PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between John Reyes (ranked 4131 p4p, 4868 weight class) and Crowbar Axelrod (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Reyes has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Reyes
vs
Axelrod

180 cm
25
145
2 - 2 - 0

170 cm
18
151
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, John Reyes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Crowbar Axelrod!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Johanna Lukiainen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A nice leg kick from Axelrod, right into the meat of the thigh.
Reyes defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Axelrod.
Axelrod shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Reyes as he jumps to the side.
Reyes looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Axelrod is fending him off so far but Reyes persists. Nope, Axelrod circles away and we're back to standing.
No luck for Reyes with that takedown attempt.
Axelrod shoots for a double leg takedown but Reyes sprawls well. He's pushed Axelrod's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
John Reyes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Crowbar Axelrod.
Axelrod fails to land the takedown.

Axelrod clinches with his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Reyes changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Axelrod fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Reyes fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Reyes shoots for a takedown but Axelrod saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Axelrod shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Reyes connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Reyes avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Reyes looks to land a combination but Axelrod avoids it well.
Axelrod shoots in for a takedown but Reyes shows good takedown defense.
Reyes misses with a head kick.
Axelrod swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Reyes counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Axelrod looks to clinch
and Reyes counters with a right hand to the body.
Reyes shoots in looking for a takedown. Axelrod tries to sprawl out of it but Reyes keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Axelrod manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Axelrod tries to clinch but Reyes is having none of it.
Reyes moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Axelrod shoots for a double leg takedown but Reyes sprawls well. He's pushed Axelrod's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Axelrod fails with a takedown attempt.

Axelrod clinches up against the cage.
Reyes really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Axelrod pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Axelrod tries to close the distance and clinch up but Reyes swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Axelrod misses with a double jab.
Reyes looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Reyes looks for a takedown but Axelrod sprawls well.
Axelrod throws out a counter right but Reyes avoids it with no problem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Axelrod tries to bum rush Reyes with a series of wild strikes but Reyes uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Axelrod on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Reyes lands a jab to Axelrod's midsection.
Axelrod gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Reyes to counter with a crisp jab.
Reyes wants to clinch.
Axelrod with a lazy takedown attempt
and Reyes counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Reyes tries to keep at a distance but Axelrod has taken the fight into the clinch.
Axelrod is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Reyes is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reyes blocking some punches.
Axelrod is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Reyes to keep the fight standing.
Axelrod is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Axelrod is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Reyes to keep the fight standing.
Axelrod is trying to break free.
Reyes gets through Axelrod's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Axelrod lands a good knee to the midsection. Reyes won't want to take too many of those.
Axelrod jumps guard but Reyes stands there with Axelrod around his waist. Axelrod gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Reyes is working for takedown but Axelrod is calmly controlling the position for now.
Reyes manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Axelrod working aggressively here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Reyes shoots in for a takedown but Axelrod shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Axelrod feints the counter takedown.
Reyes definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Axelrod fails with a takedown attempt.

Reyes moves into the clinch successfully.
Reyes fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Reyes jumps into guard, dragging Axelrod to the mat.

Reyes is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Reyes is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Axelrod gets underhooks to prevent Reyes's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Reyes. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Axelrod manages to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reyes avoids a punch combination nicely.
John Reyes is winning the standup battle so far.
Axelrod plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Reyes shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Axelrod counters with a leg kick.
Axelrod misses with a double jab
and Reyes counters with a two punch combo.
Axelrod tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Reyes defends well and Axelrod ends up having to push Reyes into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Reyes attempts a counter takedown but Axelrod avoids it well and moves away.
Axelrod rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Reyes moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Reyes is trying hard to land a takedown here. Axelrod sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Reyes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Axelrod can do to turn this around?
Axelrod throws a combination that misses

and Reyes moves into the clinch.

Axelrod jumps into guard, dragging Reyes to the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reyes looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Axelrod looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Axelrod can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Reyes controls the pace.
Axelrod wants to stand but Reyes is controlling the position.
Axelrod wants to sweep but no luck.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Reyes looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Axelrod is working an open guard so Reyes takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Axelrod changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Reyes tries to avoid it but Axelrod manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Reyes to the ground. Reyes escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Reyes keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Axelrod tries to clinch up.
Reyes lands a two punch combo.
Axelrod fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Reyes avoids it really well and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reyes misses with the combination.
Reyes lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Axelrod throws a body punch but Reyes moves out of range.
Reyes dives in for a single leg takedown but Axelrod sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Axelrod wants a takedown but no success here.
Axelrod working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Axelrod tries to break free but Reyes pushes him back against the cage.
Axelrod being controlled against the cage.
Axelrod drops down looking for an ankle pick but Reyes pulls his leg out and moves away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

John Reyes dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Axelrod fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Reyes dives in for a single leg takedown but Axelrod sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Axelrod tries for a takedown but Reyes manages to get underhooks.
Axelrod tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Reyes just stands there and leans against the cage.
John Reyes has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Crowbar Axelrod.
Axelrod gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Reyes.
Reyes is trying to break the clinch but Axelrod is controlling him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Axelrod looking for a takedown.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Axelrod is trying to drag Reyes to the mat but Reyes just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reyes looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Reyes successfully pulls guard.
Axelrod tries to stand but Reyes is controlling from the bottom.
Reyes has Axelrod pulled in close to control his posture.
Reyes has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Axelrod must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Axelrod trying to control the position from guard on top but Reyes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Axelrod wants to stand and escape but instead Reyes has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Reyes sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Axelrod is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Reyes stays in close to Axelrod's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Reyes gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Axelrod throws a combination that misses
and Reyes counters with a series of strikes. Axelrod will be more careful next time no doubt.
A head kick misses from Axelrod.

Reyes clinches with his opponent.
Axelrod drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Axelrod tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Reyes smiles and moves away.
Axelrod is looking to clinch.

Reyes moves into the clinch successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by Reyes.
Axelrod wants to take the fight to the mat but Reyes manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
The referee is keeping an eye on Reyes - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Axelrod tries to circle away but Reyes has him pinned against the cage.
Axelrod tries to work over Reyes's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Axelrod keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Reyes's efforts to push away.
John Reyes has scored more points in the clinch so far.

Axelrod escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Axelrod takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Crowbar Axelrod has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John Reyes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Reyes dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Reyes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Reyes 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Reyes!