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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Zane Raven (ranked 357 p4p, 418 weight class) and Saul Tacarante (ranked 30 p4p, 39 weight class). Raven comes into the arena with 300 Violin Orchestra - Jorge Quintero blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.
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| 172 cm
29
145
15 - 5 - 0 |
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172 cm
30
137
17 - 8 - 0 |
Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible |
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Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin |
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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 15 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Zane Raven!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Saul Tacarante!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Chris Downing and Robert Twigg.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tacarante tries to sprawl but Raven drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Tacarante is staying active underneath Raven, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Raven is working for a submission of some sort.
Tacarante wants to control but Raven is keeping busy and won't allow it.
We've been hearing that Raven has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Tacarante keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Raven seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Tacarante does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Tacarante wants to control but Raven is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Raven sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tacarante defending well though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tacarante preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Raven trying to control from half guard but Tacarante is working away.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Tacarante has hold of Raven's hands but Raven slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Raven is working for a kimura here but Tacarante manages to reverse the position and he's now in Raven's guard.
Raven looking to hit a scissor sweep but Tacarante is one step ahead there.
Tacarante drops back looking for a leg! Raven is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Raven manages to kick Tacarante off! Tacarante jumps back into Raven's guard.
Tacarante trying to control but Raven is working from the bottom.
Raven looking for a sweep. Not yet Raven, not yet.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raven keeping moving, preventing Tacarante from controlling successfully.
Raven wants to sweep here but Tacarante controlling him for the moment.
Raven is working hard here to advance position.
Raven keeping moving, preventing Tacarante from controlling successfully.
Tacarante looking to pass the guard.
Tacarante trying to control the position from guard on top but Raven is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Raven managing to control the position.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raven ducks under a wild hook from Tacarante.
Raven looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Raven misses with a hook.
Tacarante looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Raven takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Raven bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Raven is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Tacarante will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Raven lands an elbow.
Tacarante is looking to reverse the position.
Raven scoring with punches from side control.
Raven lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Tacarante down.
Raven working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Raven working the body and head with strikes.
Raven trying to control the position but Tacarante is working away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Raven tries to advance to mount but Tacarante instead regains half guard.
Tacarante is looking to improve his position.
Tacarante is doing well to control the position and prevent Raven from advancing to side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Tacarante trying to control from the bottom.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Raven lands a nice short elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Zane Raven dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.
Raven misses with a left hand
enabling Tacarante to counter with a crisp jab.
Raven tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tacarante was well out of range. Poor timing from Raven.
Raven ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Raven throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Raven shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Tacarante as he jumps to the side.
Nice defenses there by Tacarante.
Raven misses with a straight left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Raven throws a body shot but no joy.
Tacarante appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Raven takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Tacarante looks to land a left hand but Raven moved out of range nicely.
Raven tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tacarante was well out of range. Poor timing from Raven.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Raven shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Tacarante counter with a right hand.
Raven lands a nice hook to Tacarante's body. Tacarante takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Tacarante gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Raven shoots in looking for a takedown but Tacarante manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Raven's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Zane Raven. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Raven misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Tacarante counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Raven throws a lazy uppercut
and Tacarante counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Sloppy strikes from Tacarante. Those never looked like landing.
Raven closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Raven trying to control from half guard but Tacarante is working away.
Tacarante is trying to get back to full guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tacarante on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Raven thows a huge punch but Tacarante dodges it nicely.
Tacarante regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Raven.
Tacarante keeping moving, preventing Raven from controlling successfully.
Raven is really struggling to control Tacarante but he's trying to hold on to the position.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Tacarante holds on and takes a little breather.
Raven lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Tacarante wants to sweep here but Raven controlling him for the moment.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raven distracts Tacarante with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Raven wants to control from the top but Tacarante keeps moving.
Raven is working Tacarante over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Raven scoring with some ground and pound.
Raven not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Raven slips nicely into half guard.
Raven trying to control from half guard but Tacarante is working away.
Raven prevents Tacarante from improving his position.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raven working over Tacarante with some ground and pound. Tacarante looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Raven is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tacarante can do to turn this around?
Tacarante is refusing to be controlled, as Raven sits in half guard.
Tacarante trying to control from the bottom.
Tacarante wants to improve his position but Raven is controlling well.
Raven sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Tacarante defending well though.
Raven is looking to take a break and control but Tacarante is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Raven uses his free foot to push down on Tacarante's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Tacarante.
Raven tries to control but Tacarante wriggling away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Zane Raven dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!
A lazy left from Raven finds it's target.
Raven uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Tacarante.
Tacarante throws an overhand right that lands on Raven's shoulder, as Raven tries to avoid the shot.
Raven takes a swing at Tacarante's ribcage but misses.
Tacarante looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Tacarante throws a head kick but Raven moves out of range.
Tacarante gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Raven has a takedown stuffed.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Raven lands with an uppercut that bounces Tacarante off the cage and back into range.
Raven lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Raven shoots in for a takedown but Tacarante shows good takedown defense.
Raven throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Tacarante stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Raven tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Tacarante defends well and Raven ends up having to push Tacarante into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Zane Raven. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Raven drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Tacarante gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Tacarante lands an uppercut.
Saul Tacarante has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tacarante doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tacarante misses with a hook to the ribs.
Raven wants to take the fight to the mat but Tacarante manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Tacarante goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Tacarante lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Raven or not.
Raven has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Tacarante after a bit of a struggle.
Tacarante works on Raven's body with a couple of short punches.
Raven is looking for a takedown.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tacarante misses with a body punch.
Raven struggles to land a body shot inside as Tacarante controls his hands.
Still in the clinch, Raven scores with a nice short uppercut.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Tacarante.
Tacarante tries to throw a body punch but Raven avoids it by throwing Tacarante back against the cage.
Raven is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Tacarante fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tacarante misses with a punch to the body.
Tacarante goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Raven jumps guard and drags Tacarante to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tacarante content to stall in guard here.
Raven is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Raven looking for a sweep. Not yet Raven, not yet.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tacarante controlling from the top position.
Raven not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Raven preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Tacarante 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.
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Raven throws a hook to the side of Tacarante's head but Tacarante sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Raven slips under a jab.
Tacarante throws a head kick that misses.
Raven tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Tacarante defends well and Raven ends up having to push Tacarante into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Tacarante replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Raven blocks it well.
Raven is trying to maintain a safe position but Tacarante gets an underhook and turns Raven into the cage.
A right handed body shot lands from Raven.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is keeping an eye on Raven - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Tacarante tries to work over Raven's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Tacarante can't find room to land a body shot as Raven controls the action.
Raven wants a takedown but no success here.
Raven lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Tacarante struggles to land a body shot inside as Raven controls his hands.
Tacarante struggles to land a body shot inside as Raven controls his hands.
Raven has Tacarante pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Tacarante manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Tacarante tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Raven's elbow.
Tacarante has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Raven seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Tacarante can turn it around.
Tacarante lands an uppercut.
Tacarante stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Still in the clinch, Tacarante scores with a nice short uppercut.
Tacarante can't find room to land a body shot as Raven controls the action.
Raven drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Tacarante gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Zane Raven is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Raven breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
And that's the end of the fight!
Saul Tacarante comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Raven 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zane Raven!
During a confident post fight interview, Zane Raven thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
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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
37% |
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