PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Destin Craven (ranked 1958 p4p, 1270 weight class) and Carlos Narvaez (ranked 116 p4p, 86 weight class). Narvaez is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Ã‘etas for Life - Anvesh Mallick. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Craven
vs
Narvaez

172 cm
31
141
18 - 16 - 1

172 cm
26
145
12 - 5 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Brooklyn Apothecary
Brooklyn Threads

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Destin Craven!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Carlos Narvaez!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Saam Ante and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Narvaez avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Craven misses with a left hand
and Narvaez counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A left and a right from Craven both land. Nice combination.
Narvaez lands a slapping body shot.
Craven ducks under a wild hook from Narvaez.
Craven tries for a takedown but Narvaez sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Narvaez lands a nice shot to the body.
Narvaez on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Narvaez throws a body punch but Craven moves out of range.
Craven misses with a jab, cross combination.
Craven uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Narvaez.
A little feinted left hand from Craven on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Craven looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Craven is defended easily by Narvaez.
Craven looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Craven avoids the body shot from Narvaez.
Craven is looking to chop away at Narvaez's legs.
Narvaez staying out of range there.
Narvaez is looking to chop away at Craven's legs.
Craven throws a counter high kick but Narvaez was just alert enough to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craven takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Craven lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Narvaez connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Craven's hands.
Craven works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
A chopping leg kick lands by Narvaez.
Narvaez jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Craven takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Narvaez is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Craven rather than just go for the knockout.
Craven keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Craven shoots in looking for a takedown. Narvaez tries to sprawl out of it but Craven keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Narvaez manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Destin Craven. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Narvaez throws a body punch but Craven moves out of range.
Destin Craven seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Narvaez takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Craven scores with a punch to the head.
Narvaez does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Craven lands a lovely overhand right.
Narvaez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Craven was well out of range. Poor timing from Narvaez.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Narvaez ducks under a wild hook from Craven.
Craven throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Narvaez counters with a good low kick that Craven was not able to check.
Craven throws a series of punches but Narvaez avoids them all with ease.
Narvaez connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Narvaez has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Narvaez there as he acknowledges the shot.
Narvaez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Craven.
Narvaez tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Narvaez fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Craven looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Craven fails to land the takedown.
Craven shoots in for a takedown but Narvaez shows good takedown defense.
A low kick lands for Narvaez.
Narvaez lands a nice looking body shot.
A nice combination there by Craven.
Narvaez turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Craven throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Narvaez on the side of the head.
Craven tries to land a body kick
letting Narvaez counter with a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Craven checks a leg kick.
Craven scores with a body shot.
Craven tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Narvaez defends well and Craven ends up having to push Narvaez into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Craven blocking some punches.
Narvaez blocks an uppercut.

Narvaez breaks from the clinch.
Narvaez throws a leg kick but Craven sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Craven lands a jab to the nose.
Narvaez avoids the head kick by Craven.
Narvaez feints a counter leg kick.
Craven looks to score with a jab to the body but Narvaez is just out of range.
Narvaez defending well as Craven loads up on a big left hand.
A nice leg kick lands there from Craven.
Narvaez has worked on his takedown defense in the runup to this fight and it is paying off so far.
Narvaez pivots, looking for a leg kick but Craven is out of range and Narvaez settles back down.
Craven throws a right hand that Narvaez ducks under and follows up with a left that Narvaez also avoids with ease.
Craven misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Narvaez scores with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Narvaez fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Craven takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Craven swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Craven ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Narvaez connects with a leg kick.
Craven ducks under a wild hook from Narvaez.
Craven is looking to counter punch.
Narvaez is looking to slow Craven down with leg kicks.
Narvaez blocks a head kick by Craven.
Narvaez misses with a wild body shot.
Craven appears to be looking for a big counter.
Craven avoids the body shot from Narvaez.
Craven ducks under a wild hook from Narvaez.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Craven.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Craven fails to land with a series of punches.
Narvaez scores with the left hand. Craven knows he should have avoided that one.
A nice inside leg kick there by Narvaez. That's going to slow Craven down.
Narvaez punishes Craven's body with a nice straight punch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Carlos Narvaez will probably get the nod.
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.

Craven lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Craven is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Craven digs a good body shot into Narvaez's ribs.
Craven scores with a three punch combo!
Craven tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Narvaez throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Craven sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Narvaez tries to sprawl but Craven drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Narvaez is looking to improve his position.
Craven wants to lay and pray for a moment but Narvaez keeps working.

Craven is looking for a kimura here.
Craven wants to pass the guard but Narvaez is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craven looks to land a strike but Narvaez avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Craven is working Narvaez over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Craven postures up in Narvaez's guard and throws a big left but Narvaez blocks it.
Narvaez keeping moving, preventing Craven from controlling successfully.
Craven stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Narvaez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Narvaez has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Craven wants to pass the guard but Narvaez is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Craven is working hard here to advance position.
Craven throwing strikes but missing.
Narvaez working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Craven.
Craven passes Narvaez's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Craven trying to mount his opponent but Narvaez defends it.
Narvaez preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Craven with the ground and pound but Narvaez uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Craven won't allow Narvaez to get back to his feet.
Craven is looking to work some ground and pound but Narvaez has wrist control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Craven scores with a jab to the jaw.
Craven scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Craven throws a hook to the side of Narvaez's head but Narvaez sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Destin Craven is winning the standup battle so far.
Craven has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Narvaez.
Craven misses with a head kick.
A countering left hand to the body from Narvaez misses.
Nice cross by Craven.
Narvaez avoids a punch combination nicely.
Narvaez tries a quick counter leg kick but Craven is wise to it.
Narvaez swings for the body but Craven moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Narvaez ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Craven uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Narvaez.
Narvaez misses the shot to the body.
An attempted straight right counter from Craven misses the target.
Craven fails with a takedown attempt.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Narvaez tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Craven was well out of range. Poor timing from Narvaez.
Craven tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A low kick lands for Narvaez.
Destin Craven is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Narvaez fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Craven has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Craven lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Narvaez blocks a head kick by Craven.
Craven throws a leg kick but Narvaez sees it coming and moves out of range.
Narvaez blocks a jab.
Narvaez misses the shot to the body.
A big left from Craven misses.
Craven tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Destin Craven dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Craven jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Craven has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Narvaez.
Craven throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Craven lands with a kick to the temple. Narvaez shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Craven has a takedown stuffed.
Craven tries a head kick but it misses.
Narvaez closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Craven misses with an uppercut
and Narvaez counters with a left to the body.
Craven lands a body shot.
Narvaez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Craven uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Narvaez.
Craven throws a quick counter head kick but Narvaez was just out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Narvaez connects with a solid leg kick.
Narvaez slips under a jab from Craven.
A nice side step and Narvaez releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Craven looks to land a left hand but Narvaez moved out of range nicely.
Craven feints and then cracks Narvaez's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Narvaez down.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Narvaez lands with a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Narvaez throws a leg kick which misses Craven's front leg but catches the back leg as Craven tries to avoid it.
Narvaez connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Narvaez feints and then cracks Craven's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Craven down.
Narvaez throws a series of punches but Craven moves out of range.
Craven throws a body punch but Narvaez moves out of range.
Narvaez avoids the head kick by Craven.

Craven looking to score a takedown here. Narvaez is defending well but Craven drives through and ends up in Narvaez's guard.

Narvaez uses the cage to get back to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Craven is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Narvaez's half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Narvaez is refusing to be controlled, as Craven sits in half guard.
Craven uses his free foot to push down on Narvaez's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Narvaez.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Craven jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Narvaez is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Narvaez and Craven has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Craven wants to control but Narvaez is keeping him busy.
Narvaez is trying to get back to half guard.
Craven wants to lay and pray for a moment but Narvaez keeps working.

Craven working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Narvaez sneaks back into half guard.
Craven working Narvaez over with strikes.
Narvaez regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Craven.
Craven throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Craven lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Craven stands and throws Narvaez's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Craven content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Craven tries to advance position but instead Narvaez slips a leg back in to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Craven not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Craven tries to pass to full mount but Narvaez defends it.
Narvaez is pressing down on Craven's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Destin Craven.
I think Craven 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight 30:27
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Destin Craven!
A very excited looking Destin Craven rambled incoherently for about 5 minutes post fight about how awesome he is. It was kinda funny for a while but then everyone got annoyed.