PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kang Aroo (ranked 5852 p4p, 6161 weight class) and Paul Raver (ranked 623 p4p, 642 weight class). Paul Raver told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Aroo
vs
Raver

193 cm
25
199
2 - 3 - 0

185 cm
19
210
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Kang Aroo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Paul Raver!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Raver throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nice sprawl there from Raver as Aroo shoots in.
Raver thinks about the counter body kick.
Raver takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

It looks like Paul Raver has been cut.
Raver has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Aroo lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Raver circles away quickly and effectively.
Raver throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Aroo sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Aroo looks to clinch
and Raver counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A looping hook to the body misses from Raver. Aroo does a little dance to reset his feet.
Aroo stuns Raver with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Raver on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Raver defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Aroo.
Raver looks to land a body kick but Aroo moved away.
Raver throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Raver throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Aroo thuds a left hand into Raver's body.
Raver showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Aroo.
Raver pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Aroo went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Aroo with a body punch. A glancing blow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aroo lands a slapping body shot.
Aroo slips a jab from Raver.
Raver throws a hook but Aroo avoids it easily.

Raver shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Aroo's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Raver tries to free his leg and advance position but Aroo is retaining full guard.
Raver forces his way into half guard.
Aroo is looking to control Raver's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Aroo avoid being mounted?
Raver missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Raver winds up and cracks Aroo with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Aroo is looking for a sweep. Raver is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Raver not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aroo tries to roll over but Raver keeps him under control.
Raver thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Aroo's head.
Raver thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Aroo's head.
Raver is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Aroo blocking the ground and pound attempt from Raver.
Aroo blocking the ground and pound attempt from Raver.
Raver lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Aroo is looking to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raver missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Aroo tries to get to full guard but Raver has control of the leg.
Raver seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Raver is trying to control. Aroo wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Raver missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Raver content to control rather than advance.
Aroo is in a tricky position. We've heard reports from his gym mates at Reach Around that he's been drilling escapes, so let's see if he can get back to his feet.
Raver thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Aroo's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Raver thows a huge punch but Aroo dodges it nicely.

Raver looking for a submission but Aroo manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
Raver cracks Aroo with a solid left hand.
Raver throws a big right hand that misses.
Raver working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Raver looking to sit in guard and control but Aroo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Raver striking off his back but it's not causing Aroo any problems.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Raver is on top in guard.

Raver passes easily into side control. Nice work.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Raver dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Paul Raver's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Aroo rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Raver moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Raver misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Aroo tries to sprawl but Raver drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Aroo tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Aroo keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Raver wants to control but Aroo is keeping him busy.
Aroo is holding on to half guard well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aroo tries to roll over but Raver keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Raver lands a nice short elbow.
Raver is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Aroo wants to control but Raver is keeping busy.
Raver throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Aroo avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Raver.
Aroo gets full guard.
Aroo keeping moving, preventing Raver from controlling successfully.
Aroo knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Raver on the ground.
Raver looking to sit in guard and control but Aroo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Aroo got a little sloppy there for a moment and Raver has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Aroo has managed to get both his arms back between Raver's legs - danger averted.
Paul Raver has got the better of the ground game so far.
Aroo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Raver is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Raver had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Aroo defends it easily.
Raver lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Aroo wriggles free and stands up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aroo checks a leg kick.
Aroo lands a nice shot to the body.
Raver misses with the combination.
Kang Aroo is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A punch combination from Raver misses.
Aroo swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Raver keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Aroo fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

Raver fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Aroo sprawls well initially but Raver persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Aroo manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Raver is breathing heavily.
Paul Raver seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Raver is trying hard to land a takedown here. Aroo sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Raver closes this distance looking for a takedown but Aroo circles away.
Aroo's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Aroo duly obliges.
Aroo tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Raver paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raver avoids the body shot from Aroo.
Aroo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Aroo throws a good cross that connects.
Raver throws a looping overhand right but Aroo ducks down to avoid it.
Aroo is looking for a counter combo.
Aroo is looking to wear down Raver with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Raver looks to land a body kick but Aroo moved away.
Aroo misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Raver avoids the head kick by Aroo.
Raver loads up on a big right hand but Aroo slips the punch.
Raver fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Kang Aroo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paul Raver.
Raver throws a left and a right that both miss
and Aroo cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Aroo throws a good cross that connects.
Aroo stuns Raver with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Raver misses with a straight left.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kang Aroo dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Paul Raver's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Raver throws out a leg kick but Aroo moves out of range and Raver only half commits.
Aroo swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Aroo lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Raver looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Aroo keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Raver.
Aroo slips under a jab from Raver.

Aroo clinches up against the cage.
Aroo lands an uppercut.

Aroo breaks the clinch.
Aroo misses with a series of wild punches.
Raver tries for a takedown but Aroo circles away easily
letting Aroo counter with a right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aroo looks to score with a jab to the body but Raver is just out of range.
Raver doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Raver fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Raver takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aroo slips under a jab from Raver.
Aroo lands with a shot to the body.
Raver tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Aroo swivels and escapes.
Kang Aroo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paul Raver.
Aroo shoots for a takedown but Raver saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Aroo jabs Raver to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Raver takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Raver keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Raver throws a right and a left that Aroo avoids nicely.
Raver fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Aroo avoids it really well and circles away.
Danga de danga de dang - Aroo scores with a four punch combination!
Aroo punishes Raver's body with a nice straight punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aroo scores with a hook to the body. Raver takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Raver is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Raver fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Aroo manages to avoid it.
Aroo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Raver can do to turn this around?
Raver takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Kang Aroo is winning the standup battle so far.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Aroo. Raver shrugs it off though.
Aroo scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Aroo ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Aroo connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Raver momentarily.
Aroo connects with a body shot that sends Raver's belly button to the back.
Aroo closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Aroo scores with a jab.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Aroo is defended easily by Raver.
Raver with a poor takedown
and Aroo counters with a stiff right hand.
Aroo lands with a good body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aroo leaves Raver with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Aroo seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Aroo digs a good body shot into Raver's ribs.
Aroo scores with a three punch combo!
Aroo lands with a hook. Raver tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Raver bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Aroo's head backwards.

Aroo looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Raver tries to roll over but Aroo keeps him under control.
Raver has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Raver looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Raver wants to control the action here but instead Aroo manages to pass to full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Aroo controlling the pace for now.
Kang Aroo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Raver wants to hold on but Aroo pushes him away.
Aroo wants to control the pace but Raver is squirming around nicely.
Raver is trying to escape the mount.
Raver wants to hold on but Aroo pushes him away.
Paul Raver has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Raver is desperately trying to improve his position but Aroo has a good base and remains in mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kang Aroo showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Aroo 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Kang Aroo!
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight for Kang Aroo!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Kang Aroo!

Kang Aroo wins by unanimous decision!
After the fight, Kang Aroo was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.