PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Eric Draven (ranked 1981 p4p, 1959 weight class) and Gianni Castellana (ranked 244 p4p, 240 weight class). Castellana comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Good night kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Draven
vs
Castellana

175 cm
36
158
21 - 10 - 2

168 cm
26
165
7 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter

Shadow-Battle 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 21 - 10 - 2, fighting out of London, Eric Draven!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Gianni Castellana!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Valeri Chadov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Draven blocks a jab.
Draven tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Castellana paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Castellana swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Castellana misses with a kick to the body.
Eric Draven seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Draven forces Castellana back against the cage and clinches.

Draven pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Draven scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Draven misses with a low kick as Castellana jumps back.
Draven lands a head kick. Castellana smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Castellana listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Draven misses with a double jab.
Castellana tests Draven's chin there with a solid looking shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Draven misses with a shot to the body
and Castellana counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Draven sizes up Castellana with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Draven misses with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Castellana throws a leg kick that is checked
and Draven connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Draven darts in and clinches Castellana up against the cage.
Castellana misses with a punch to the body.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Castellana.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Draven takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Castellana struggles to land a body shot inside as Draven controls his hands.

Draven pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Draven takes a swing at Castellana's ribcage but misses.
Castellana swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Castellana throws a big shot that misses.
Castellana misses with a low kick as Draven jumps back.
Castellana keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Draven fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Castellana throws out a counter right but Draven avoids it with no problem.
Draven throws a solid leg kick but Castellana takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Draven.
Draven misses with a jab, cross combination.
Castellana throws out a counter right but Draven avoids it with no problem.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castellana swats away the attempt to clinch by Draven.

Draven gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Draven is trying to maintain a safe position but Castellana gets an underhook and turns Draven into the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Draven.
A short left from Castellana.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Draven breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Draven throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Draven tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Castellana paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Castellana misses with a body shot.
Draven attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Draven throws a body kick that misses.
Draven slips a jab from Castellana.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Castellana. Draven does a little dance to reset his feet.
Draven dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Draven closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Draven blocks a body shot from Castellana.
Castellana misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Draven.
Draven is stalling here.
Draven wants to stall.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Draven is trying to force a seperation but Castellana has the dominant position.

Draven breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Draven closes the distance but Castellana moves to the side
letting Castellana counter with a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Draven uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Castellana.
As Castellana backs away, Draven returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Draven throws a sloppy head kick and Castellana moves out of range easily.
Draven staying out of range there.
Draven wants to clinch up but Castellana keeps it at a distance.
Castellana looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Castellana throws a body punch but Draven moves out of range.
Draven throws a counter high kick but Castellana was just alert enough to avoid it.
Draven throws a quick inside leg kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Draven looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Castellana circles away from the clinch attempt.
A punch lands to the side of Castellana 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Castellana lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Draven has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Draven and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Draven lands with a kick to the ribs.
Castellana throws an overhand right that lands on Draven's shoulder, as Draven tries to avoid the shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Draven dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Draven thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Castellana if he has to take too many more of those.
Draven is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Castellana can do to turn this around?
Draven swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Draven throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Draven throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Draven chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Castellana misses with a hook.
Draven feints and then cracks Castellana's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Castellana down.
Draven misses with an attempted mid kick.
Draven lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Draven takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Draven ducks under a wild hook from Castellana.
Draven seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Castellana misses with a straight right.

Draven drives through and clinches with Castellana against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Draven is trying to maintain a safe position but Castellana gets an underhook and turns Draven into the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Castellana creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Draven trying to control the position but instead, Castellana has worked for underhooks and has pushed Draven into the cage.
Nice body punch from Castellana.
Draven is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Draven taking a breather.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Eric Draven.

Draven has Castellana up against the cage in a clinch.
Eric Draven has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Draven is trying to stall.

Draven breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Draven thumps Castellana with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Draven tries to clinch up but Castellana circles away and keeps his distance.
Draven throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Castellana steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Draven.
Draven misses with a few strikes there.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Castellana! But no joy.
Draven tries to clinch but Castellana is having none of it.
Castellana throws a front kick aimed at Draven's knee but Draven avoids it well.
Castellana shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Castellana blocks a head kick by Draven.
Draven ducks under a wild hook from Castellana.
Draven tries to close the distance and clinch but Castellana swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Draven looks to score with a jab to the body but Castellana is just out of range.
Draven is looking to wear down Castellana with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Draven misses with a two punch combination.

Draven has closed the distance and engaged Castellana in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Draven pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Castellana lands a nice shot to the body.
Castellana thuds his right hand into Draven's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Castellana connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Draven tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Castellana ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

Draven has taken the fight to the clinch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Draven has Castellana pressed against the cage.
Castellana lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Castellana tries to throw a body punch but Draven avoids it by throwing Castellana back against the cage.
Draven working hard to break the clinch.

Draven pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Castellana swats away the attempt to clinch by Draven.
Draven lands with a kick to the temple. Castellana shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Draven throws a sloppy head kick and Castellana moves out of range easily.
Draven staying out of range there.
Draven wants to clinch up but Castellana keeps it at a distance.
An inside leg kick lands from Castellana.
Eric Draven is winning the standup battle so far.
Castellana keeps the fight on the outside.
Castellana lands a body shot.
Draven tries to clinch up but Castellana circles away and keeps his distance.
Draven tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Castellana was well out of range. Poor timing from Draven.
Castellana looks to land a left hand but Draven moved out of range nicely.
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 Eric Draven will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Draven uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Castellana.
Draven throws a head kick but Castellana moves out of range.
Castellana takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Draven pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Draven throws a sloppy head kick and Castellana moves out of range easily.
A head kick misses from Castellana.
Draven wants to clinch.
Castellana throws a counter combo.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Draven closes the distance looking to clinch
and Castellana cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Castellana circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Draven moves away from the strike by Castellana.
Castellana lands a body shot.
Draven takes a swing at Castellana's ribcage but misses.
Draven looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Draven throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Castellana.
Draven thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Castellana if he has to take too many more of those.
Draven tries to close the distance and clinch but Castellana swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Draven clinches with his opponent.
Draven blocks an uppercut.
Castellana throws a punch but it's blocked by Draven.
Castellana holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Draven blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Draven manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castellana takes one on the button.
Eric Draven is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
That kick from Castellana tenderised Draven's leg. Draven is trying to keep his angry face on.
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!
Castellana tests Draven's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Castellana throws a hook but Draven avoids it easily.
Draven tries to clinch but Castellana is having none of it.
Castellana looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Draven misses with a body kick.
Castellana misses with a low kick as Draven jumps back.
Castellana misses with a low kick.
Castellana keeps the fight on the outside.
Draven swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Castellana cracks Draven with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castellana uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Draven.
Draven takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Draven tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Castellana paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Castellana throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Draven fails with an attempt to clinch.
Castellana appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Draven connects with a body shot that sends Castellana's belly button to the back.
Eric Draven is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Castellana avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Draven slips under a jab.
Draven lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Castellana backs up against the cage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Castellana. Draven does a little dance to reset his feet.
Draven tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Castellana manages to circle out of the way.
Draven throws a quick inside leg kick.
Draven walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Draven throws a body shot but no joy.
Draven misses with a wild combination.
A telegraphed right hand from Castellana misses the target.
Draven looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Castellana avoids the head kick by Draven.
Castellana looks like he wants to counter punch here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Castellana misses with the body kick
and Draven counters with a nice body kick.
Gianni Castellana has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Draven lets loose with a powerful body kick. Castellana will feel that in the morning.
Draven tries to clinch up but Castellana circles away and keeps his distance.
Draven keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Castellana.
Castellana misses with a straight right.
Draven dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Draven keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Gianni Castellana.
Well Draven has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eric Draven!
Eric Draven was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.