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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between James River (ranked 174 p4p, 216 weight class) and Li Gong (ranked 19 p4p, 26 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?
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| 170 cm
26
145
14 - 5 - 0 |
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173 cm
25
146
12 - 4 - 1 |
Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine |
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Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank |
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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 14 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, James River !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 1, fighting out of London, Li Gong!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Robert Twigg and Gwen Towbar.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gong lands a jab.
River throws a poor cross that misses
and Gong counters with a nice uppercut.
It looks like James River has been cut.
River avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Gong misses with a straight left.
An attempted straight right counter from River misses the target.
River darts in looking for a takedown but Gong gets double underhooks and turns River into the cage.
River lands a right hand that snaps the head of Gong backwards.
Gong pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gong. River does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gong misses with an uppercut
and River counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Gong misses with a straight left.
A quick step to the side and River tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
River ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
River scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Gong has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Gong punishes River 's body with a nice straight punch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gong has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Gong there as he acknowledges the shot.
Gong throws a wild body kick that River sees coming a mile off.
River throws the left hand but Gong avoids the punch easily.
River clobbers Gong with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
River clinches up against the cage.
River manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Gong postures up.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Gong looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
River seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
River working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Gong doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Gong manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gong wants to stand but River has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Gong sitting in guard here, content to control.
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.
Gong tries to free his leg and advance position but River is retaining full guard.
River is looking for a triangle but Gong pushes his legs off easily.
River is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
River scores with a shot to the body.
River has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Gong finds it's way round the side to connect with River 's head.
River throws a body punch but Gong moves out of range.
Gong scores with a jab to the body.
River loads up on a big right hand but Gong slips the punch.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gong misses with a body shot.
River closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Nice body punch from River - that landed with a thud.
River works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Gong pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
River loads up on a big right hand but Gong slips the punch.
River lands a nice shot to the body.
Gong misses with a hook.
Gong dodges the punch combination from River .
Gong has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Gong there as he acknowledges the shot.
River 's jab looks to have found its range, popping Gong under the eye.
Gong throws a body kick that misses.
James River seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gong misses with a hook.
River is looking to clinch but Gong is avoiding it.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Gong! But no joy.
Gong waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract River .
A counter left hand to the body from River misses its target.
River moves out of range as Gong throws a body kick.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
River ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Gong moves away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gong lands a jab to the nose.
River gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Gong.
Gong manages to break the clinch.
Gong avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
River tries to clinch but Gong is having none of it.
River jabbing away but nothing is landing.
River scores with a jab to the body.
River lands a nice shot that snaps Gong's head back.
River throws a body shot but no joy.
Gong punishes River 's body with a nice straight punch.
River moves out of range as Gong strikes.
Gong misses with a looping left.
River shoots in looking for a takedown. Gong tries to sprawl out of it but River keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gong manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Gong swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that James River will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on James River 's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!
River connects with a jab.
Gong avoids the body shot from River .
Gong looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Gong throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
River looks to land a right hand but Gong moved out of range.
Gong misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from River .
River lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Gong misses with a wild body shot.
River tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Gong was well out of range. Poor timing from River .
River displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Gong throws out the jab.
Gong misses with a looping left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gong takes one to the chin there.
River wants to clinch up but Gong keeps it at a distance.
River moves out of range of the strikes.
Gong uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by River .
Gong pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Gong throws a head kick but River moves out of range.
That's one minute gone in the round.
River connects with a body shot that sends Gong's belly button to the back.
River misses the shot to the body.
River keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Gong.
Nice defenses there by River .
Gong swings for the body but River moves out of range.
Gong blocks a jab.
River throws a body shot but no joy.
Gong feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits River s jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
River takes a head kick and keeps coming.
River throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Gong stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
River looks to land a right hand but Gong moved out of range.
Li Gong seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Gong defends well against a solid takedown attempt from River .
A head kick from Gong lands but River takes it in his stride.
River misses with a double jab.
A countering left hand to the body from Gong misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
River ducks under a wild hook from Gong.
Gong misses with a wild body shot.
Gong throws the left hand but River avoids the punch easily.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gong throws a right hand that misses
so River counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Gong preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
River trying to control but Gong is working from the bottom.
Gong working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from River .
Gong keeping moving, preventing River from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gong is trying to control the position but River postures up.
River postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
River wants to control from the top but Gong keeps moving.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
River ducks under a wild hook from Gong.
An attempted straight right counter from River misses the target.
River digs a good body shot into Gong's ribs.
Gong wants to land a leg kick but River is out of range.
Gong misses with an uppercut. River saw that one coming.
Gong misses with a hook.
Gong throws a hook but River blocks it.
An attempted straight right counter from River misses the target.
River fails to land with a series of punches.
Gong fakes high and swings low for a body shot but River manages to avoid it.
River blocks a jab.
River takes a shot right to the bread basket.
A head kick by Gong misses
and River counters with a single leg into guard. Gong didn't expect that.
River throwing strikes from guard but Gong blocks nicely.
River throws a strike but Gong rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gong controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gong pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. River is keeping the position for now.
River looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
River is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Gong defends well.
River 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.
River throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close second round but I would say that James River will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on James River 's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!
River moves out of range of the strikes.
River throwing a counter right hand but Gong manages to avoid it.
Li Gong has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
River ducks under a wild hook from Gong.
River loads up on a big right hand but Gong slips the punch.
A head kick misses from Gong.
Gong just misses with a punch to the body.
River uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gong.
Gong takes a swing at River 's ribcage but misses.
River connects with a body shot.
River scores with a nice strike.
Gong misses with an uppercut. River saw that one coming.
River dives in and scores a takedown into Gong's guard.
River wants to control from the top but Gong keeps moving.
River is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Gong is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
James River overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
That's one minute gone in the round.
River trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
River is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
River trying to control but Gong is working from the bottom.
Gong working a defensive guard here.
River passes Gong's left leg - he's now in half guard.
River looks to land a strike but Gong avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
River distracts Gong with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Gong keeping moving, preventing River from controlling successfully.
Gong has his hands on River 's head, controlling the position.
River throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gong works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
River scoring with some ground and pound.
River wants to control from the top but Gong keeps moving.
River throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gong works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
River is looking to work some ground and pound but Gong has wrist control.
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Nice uppercut there from River .
River throws a sloppy body shot
and Gong counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
River throws a combination that misses
and Gong counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Gong pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Horrible takedown attempt by River or perhaps it was just good defense by Gong, which made it look bad.
Gong looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
River fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Gong on the side of the head.
Gong throws an overhand right that lands on River 's shoulder, as River tries to avoid the shot.
Li Gong is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gong uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by River .
River jabs Gong to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Decent striking displayed by Gong there.
Gong fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gong misses with an uppercut.
Gong lands with a good body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
River scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
River throws out a powerful jab.
Gong gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Gong uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by River .
Gong misses with a jab, cross combination.
River fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gong manages to avoid it.
River ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gong lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
River checks the leg kick nicely there.
River avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Gong lets loose with a powerful body kick. River will feel that in the morning.
River steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Gong.
River lands a slapping body shot.
Gong fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
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 James River .
Well I reckon that's a shut out for River , winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:29
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 29:29
In favor of your winner, by majority decision... James River !
James River decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
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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
55% |
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