PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ray James (ranked 4962 p4p, 24656 weight class) and Chapo Guzman (ranked 408 p4p, 0 weight class). Chapo Guzman is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

James
vs
Guzman

200 cm
25
145
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
20
155
2 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ray James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chapo Guzman!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Alan Glass and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Guzman shoots in for a takedown but James shows good takedown defense.
Guzman moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
James shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Guzman defends it nicely.
A jab from Guzman misses.
Guzman fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Guzman fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Guzman connects with the punch.
Guzman misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
James keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Ray James has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chapo Guzman.
James misses with a takedown attempt - Guzman sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Guzman fails with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guzman scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
James shoots for a double leg takedown but Guzman sprawls well. He's pushed James's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Guzman drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Guzman goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, James rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Guzman's guard! Nice work there by James!
Guzman looks winded!
James sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Guzman's guard.
James thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Guzman's head.
Nice strikes from James there.
James landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
James lands strikes from half guard.
James not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Guzman wants to get back to his feet.
James will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
James uses his free foot to push down on Guzman's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Guzman.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James cracks Guzman with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
James lands with some strikes.
Guzman really doesn't want to stay on the ground with James. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Guzman is in a horrible position here. James smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
James raining down hammerfists from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
James working the ground and pound effectively.
The referee warns Guzman that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
James lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Guzman trying desperately to get to his feet.
Guzman is looking to improve his position but James isn't that keen on the idea.
James scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Guzman?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Guzman in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
James scoring with strikes but Guzman is staying in there.
Guzman squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
James with the ground and pound from mount.
Guzman is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
James lands a nice shot to the head.
James lands a big elbow.
James working away from the top, dropping strikes.
James in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
James has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Guzman is in all sorts of trouble here.
Guzman is in a horrible position here. James smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
James 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 cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Guzman sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
James passes to full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James lands a nice shot to the head.
James landing strikes, looking to finish!
Guzman tries to hold on but James postures up.
James scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Guzman?
James is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Guzman is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
James looking to finish Guzman with some ground and pound. This is bad for Guzman!
A nice elbow there by James.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
James working the ground and pound effectively.
Guzman tries to hold on but James postures up.
James fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ray James dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Guzman misses with a series of wild punches.
Guzman leaves James with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Guzman lands with a good body shot.
Ray James is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Guzman cracks James with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
James fails to land the takedown.
Guzman stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Guzman wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ray James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Guzman scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Guzman wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by James, who protects the arm well.
Guzman wants to lay and pray for a moment but James keeps working.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Guzman taking a breather here.
Guzman trying to control the position but James is working away.

Guzman decides to stand back up. Guzman steps back and let's James get back to his feet.
Nice body punch from Guzman.
James moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Guzman scores with a crisp jab that stopped James in his tracks.
Guzman scores with a jab to the jaw.
Guzman stuns James with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Chapo Guzman seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from James. No joy for Guzman on that attempt.
James avoids a punch combination nicely.
Guzman lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as James backs up against the cage.
James fails with a takedown attempt.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
James's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Guzman connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! James scrambles back to his feet.

Guzman feints and as James raises his hands in defense, Guzman changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Guzman trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Guzman trying to control but James is working from the bottom.
Guzman slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Guzman with a flurry of punches that miss.
James utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Guzman working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Guzman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A jab lands there for Guzman.
Guzman fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
James went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James is trying hard to land a takedown here. Guzman sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A left and a right from Guzman both land. Nice combination.
Nice shot lands for Guzman.
Guzman scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Guzman scores with a sloppy right hand. James should have avoided that one.
Guzman scores with a nice right hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

James closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - James lands in his opponent's guard.

Guzman kicks James off and gets to his feet.
James misses with a takedown attempt - Guzman sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Chapo Guzman showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Guzman fails to land with a series of punches.
Guzman throws a combination but it was largely blocked by James.
Nice takedown defense from Guzman. No joy for James on that attempt.
Nice sprawl there from James as Guzman shoots in.
Guzman stuffs the takedown.
James fails with the takedown
and Guzman counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ray James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Guzman lands with a shot to the body.
Chapo Guzman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Guzman gets a takedown into half guard.
Guzman works his way into side control.
Guzman postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Guzman stalls from top position.
Guzman throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and James works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Guzman takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Guzman wants to get back to his feet.
Guzman thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed James's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Guzman is trying to control. James wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Guzman decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Guzman lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but James circles away quickly and effectively.
Guzman tries for a takedown but James sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Guzman tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but James was well out of range. Poor timing from Guzman.
James has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from James there as he acknowledges the shot.
James closes this distance looking for a takedown but Guzman circles away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from James.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Guzman!

James looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Guzman trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Guzman looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Guzman wants to sweep but no luck.
James scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
James working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
James postures up.
James wants to pass the guard but Guzman is keeping the position.

Guzman has his feet on James's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Guzman waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract James.

Guzman looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for James!

Guzman goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, James has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Guzman but great work by James.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Guzman dodges the ground and pound from James.
James misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Guzman managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by James.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Guzman has one of James's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.
James postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Guzman takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
James sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Guzman is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Guzman regains half guard.
James tries to pass the half guard into mount. Guzman knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chapo Guzman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Guzman has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chapo Guzman!