PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Phil Cayman (ranked 5402 p4p, 5343 weight class) and Deshun Harkless (ranked 310 p4p, 224 weight class). Cayman comes into the arena with Bulls on Parade- Rage Against The Machine blaring out of the sound system. Harkless has chosen hi my name- eninem as his entrance music. Phil Cayman has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cayman
vs
Harkless

176 cm
21
167
4 - 2 - 0

224 cm
22
289
8 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Knockout power

Senshi Fight Gear

Hakaka La'au Performance

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Phil Cayman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Deshun Harkless!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Ryoma Takatsuka and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cayman clinches with his opponent.
Harkless looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Harkless turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Harkless tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
You can see the frustration on Cayman's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Cayman tries to buck Harkless off but Harkless is having none of it.
Cayman sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cayman regains full guard. Nicely done.
Harkless postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cayman pulls Harkless in close to his closed guard and prevents Harkless from doing any damage or advancing position.
Cayman looking to hit a scissor sweep but Harkless is one step ahead there.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Harkless throws a right and a left that Cayman avoids nicely.

Cayman scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Harkless tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.

Harkless defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Cayman.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cayman has hold of Harkless's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Harkless manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Cayman is looking to stand but Harkless has his arms wrapped tightly around him, looking to prevent the damage.
Cayman tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Cayman jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Harkless manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Cayman is chipping away with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harkless is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Harkless is looking to reverse the position.

Cayman stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Cayman shoots in but Harkless avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Cayman is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Harkless's half guard.
Cayman working over Harkless with some ground and pound. Harkless looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cayman looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Harkless with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cayman knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Harkless on the ground.
Harkless wants to get back to full guard.
Cayman is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Cayman is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Harkless has managed to free his arm - good work.
Harkless is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Cayman working the head and body with strikes.

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Cayman escapes and gets back to his feet.

Cayman drives through with a takedown into Harkless's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Harkless working a defensive guard but Cayman manages to pass into side control anyway.
Cayman scoring with punches and elbows.
Harkless taking a bit of punishment here - Cayman scoring with strikes.
Cayman in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

Cayman is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Harkless has escaped the position, nice work there.
Harkless is looking to reverse the position.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Harkless keeps trying to improve his position.

Cayman wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Harkless, who protects the arm well.
Harkless is looking for a sweep.

Cayman tries for a kimura but Harkless is defending well.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Cayman tries to move into full mount but can't pass Harkless's legs.
Cayman taking a breather here.

Cayman is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Harkless is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's eight 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.

Cayman goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Harkless rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Cayman's guard! Nice work there by Harkless!
Cayman wants to stand but Harkless is controlling the position.
Harkless tries to stand but Cayman is controlling from the bottom.
Cayman working a defensive guard here.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Harkless loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Harkless stuffs the takedown attempt from Cayman. Cayman gets slowly back to his feet.
Harkless darts in looking for a takedown but Cayman gets double underhooks and turns Harkless into the cage.
Cayman feinted with a counter takedown.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Harkless dives in and grabs Cayman's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cayman pushes down on Harkless's head and hops out.
Cayman went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

Harkless gets caught napping as Cayman dives in and scores a takedown. Harkless manages to retain guard.
Cayman is standing up over Harkless. Harkless looks to escape but Cayman dives into side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Cayman dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Cayman throws a right and a left that Harkless avoids nicely.
Cayman shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Harkless but Harkless pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Cayman looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Harkless shoots in looking for a takedown but Cayman manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Harkless's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Harkless slips a jab and a cross from Cayman.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Cayman decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Harkless is trying to maintain the position but Cayman is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harkless won't allow Cayman to pass to mount.
Cayman lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Cayman moves nicely into side control.
Harkless wants to control but Cayman postures up.
Harkless is looking to regain half guard here but Cayman keeps moving and retains side control.
Cayman controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Cayman is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Harkless has escaped the position, nice work there.

Cayman is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Harkless is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Harkless struggling a bit here.

Cayman is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Harkless is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Harkless gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cayman looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Harkless gets full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Cayman content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Cayman advances to half guard.
Still in half guard, Cayman seems content to control.
Cayman slips a nice elbow through Harkless's hands, connecting with Harkless's forehead.
Harkless is trying to get back to full guard.
Phil Cayman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Cayman is trying to work for a kimura but Harkless is defending well.
Harkless won't allow Cayman to pass to mount.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Cayman will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Phil Cayman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cayman avoids the head kick by Harkless.
As Harkless tries to get set, Cayman tries to push him back and clinch up but Harkless manages to avoid the attempt.
Harkless is trying hard to land a takedown here. Cayman sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Phil Cayman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Harkless tries for a takedown but Cayman circles away easily
and Cayman counters with a three punch combo that has Harkless backing up. Harkless nods at Cayman to acknowledge the strikes.
Harkless keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Harkless shoots in and drives through. Cayman sprawls well.
Cayman is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Harkless.
Harkless misses with a head kick.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Harkless looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Cayman appears to be looking for a big counter.
Harkless looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Harkless shoots in looking for a takedown but Cayman manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Harkless's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Cayman tries to counter by clinching up but Harkless breaks away and moves out of range.

Cayman dives in and scores a takedown into Harkless's guard.
Cayman has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Cayman stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Harkless swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Cayman working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Harkless looking to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harkless wants to sweep here but Cayman controlling him for the moment.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Harkless wants to stand up but Cayman is controlling him.
Cayman stays in close to Harkless's body and controls the position.

Harkless looking for a guillotine here but Cayman defends easily.
Harkless wants to sweep but no luck.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Cayman has a takedown stuffed.

Cayman moves into the clinch.
Cayman jumps guard but Harkless stands there with Cayman around his waist. Cayman gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Harkless is trying to pull guard but Cayman has him pressed against the cage.
Cayman can't get the takedown.

Cayman successfully pulls guard.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Cayman has a closed guard, preventing Harkless from standing up.
Cayman is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Harkless trying to stand up but can't free himself from Cayman's guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Cayman had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Harkless defends it easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Cayman dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Harkless doesn't manage to clinch there - Cayman circles away.
As Harkless looks to move away, Cayman throws a big counter combo but Harkless just gets out of the way.
Harkless tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Cayman counters with a nice double leg into side control. Harkless won't be happy with that.

Cayman has hold of Harkless's arm here. He's working for an Americana. It looks like he might have it! Harkless tries to escape but he's just digging himself in deeper - Cayman cranks the arm and Harkless screams in pain! The ref makes a decision and ends the fight before the tap - no complains from Harkless, who is just happy to have his arm attached to his body.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:31 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Phil Cayman!
A relieved looking Phil Cayman thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.