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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Morello Hawthorne (ranked 1517 p4p, 1781 weight class) and Dragon Li Chai (ranked 119 p4p, 138 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!
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| 159 cm
27
130
10 - 11 - 1 |
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172 cm
26
145
10 - 9 - 0 |
Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine |
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Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank |
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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 10 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Morello Hawthorne!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Dragon Li Chai!
The judges for this bout are Josh West, Ryoma Takatsuka and Chris Saunders.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hawthorne wants to clinch but Chai slips to the side
and Chai makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Hawthorne closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Hawthorne tries to work over Chai's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Chai is trying to break the clinch but Hawthorne has him pressed against the cage.
Chai escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Dragon Li Chai seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Chai misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hawthorne.
Hawthorne feinted with a counter takedown.
Chai misses with a wild combination.
Hawthorne fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Chai, pushing him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hawthorne prevents Chai from breaking the clinch.
Hawthorne tries to pull guard but Chai won't allow it.
Hawthorne presses Chai against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
That's one minute gone in the round.
A right handed body shot lands from Hawthorne.
Chai escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Hawthorne closes this distance looking for a takedown but Chai circles away.
Hawthorne moves into the clinch successfully.
Hawthorne tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Morello Hawthorne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawthorne goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Hawthorne lands an uppercut.
Chai escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Hawthorne moves into the clinch.
A short right from Chai.
Chai scores with a shoulder strike.
Hawthorne jumps guard but Chai turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Chai lands a right hand that snaps the head of Hawthorne backwards.
Chai looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chai lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hawthorne tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Chai just stands there and leans against the cage.
Chai's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Chai looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Dragon Li Chai is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Chai fails to land with a series of punches.
Chai misses with a head kick.
Hawthorne tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Hawthorne fails with a takedown attempt.
Chai lands with a right hand.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorne wants to clinch up but Chai keeps it at a distance.
Hawthorne shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Chai's guard.
Chai is wriggling around but Hawthorne manages to pass to half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Hawthorne in particular looking to stall.
Chai tries to kick Hawthorne off but Hawthorne keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorne is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Hawthorne is looking for a kimura but Chai is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Hawthorne to get the leverage.
Chai tries to kick Hawthorne off but Hawthorne keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Hawthorne is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Hawthorne content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Dragon Li Chai dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Hawthorne fails in his attempt to clinch.
A combination from Chai does no damage.
Chai clobbers Hawthorne with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Hawthorne shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hawthorne showed some decent athleticism there.
Hawthorne is looking to stall here but Chai recovers full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chai keeping moving, preventing Hawthorne from controlling successfully.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawthorne sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Chai is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Hawthorne is controlling him.
Hawthorne pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Chai is keeping the position for now.
Hawthorne prevents Chai from getting back to his feet.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
That's two 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.
Hawthorne wants to control from the top but Chai keeps moving.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Chai throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Hawthorne moves into range and clinches up with Chai.
Hawthorne keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Chai's efforts to push away.
Hawthorne misses with a punch to the body.
Hawthorne is trying to pull guard but Chai has him pressed against the cage.
Hawthorne fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hawthorne.
Hawthorne is trying to stall.
Hawthorne lands with a short shot to the head.
Chai misses with a body punch.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorne throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Chais head.
Hawthorne tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Chai's elbow.
Hawthorne keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Chai's efforts to push away.
Hawthorne fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Chai breaks from the clinch.
Hawthorne on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Hawthorne tries to clinch up.
Hawthorne takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Hawthorne shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Chai as he jumps to the side.
Chai throws out a counter right but Hawthorne avoids it with no problem.
Hawthorne tries to close the distance and clinch up but Chai swats him away and circles back towards the center.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawthorne moves out of range of the body kick.
Hawthorne closes the distance and clinches.
Chai working hard to break the clinch.
Hawthorne blocks a body shot from Chai.
Chai tries to break the clinch but Hawthorne is controlling the position.
Hawthorne pushes Chai back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Hawthorne tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Morello Hawthorne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hawthorne misses with a punch to the body.
Hawthorne throws a punch but it's blocked by Chai.
Hawthorne is trying to stall.
Chai blocks a body shot from Hawthorne.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Chai tries to circle away but Hawthorne has him pinned against the cage.
Hawthorne throws a head punch that misses.
Chai lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Hawthorne backwards.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
A close second round but Dragon Li Chai will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!
Hawthorne doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Chai throws a body punch but Hawthorne moves out of range.
Hawthorne drives through with a takedown into Chai's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Hawthorne trying to control the position from guard on top but Chai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hawthorne looking to sit in guard and control but Chai gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chai would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai got a little sloppy there for a moment and Hawthorne has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Chai has managed to get both his arms back between Hawthorne's legs - danger averted.
Chai must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Chai wants to stand but Hawthorne is controlling his posture from full guard.
Morello Hawthorne overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hawthorne is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Chai would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hawthorne manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Chai manages to get himself to full guard.
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.
Hawthorne trying to control but Chai is working from the bottom.
Hawthorne pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Chai is keeping the position for now.
Hawthorne trying to control the position from guard on top but Chai is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hawthorne passes Chai's left leg - he's now in half guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chai is defending against the submission attempts here by Hawthorne.
Hawthorne moves nicely into side control.
Morello Hawthorne has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hawthorne tries to advance to mount but Chai denies him.
Chai tries to escape but Hawthorne is in control.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Chai stops Hawthorne from passing to mount.
Hawthorne trying to control the action but Chai is working from the bottom.
Chai is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Dragon Li Chai is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Chai misses with a jab, cross combination.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hawthorne takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Hawthorne doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Chai counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Dragon Li Chai.
I've got Chai winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Josh West scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 28:30
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by split decision... Morello Hawthorne!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
32% |
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