PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Connell Hayes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Touko Rauta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hayes comes to the cage accompanied by Calm Like a Bomb. Rauta has chosen Iron Fist as his entrance music. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Hayes
vs
Rauta

182 cm
21
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
214 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Weight Loss Specialists

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Connell Hayes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Touko Rauta!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Steven Brown and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rauta has taken the fight to the clinch.

Rauta breaks from the clinch.
Rauta darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Hayes is rocked!

It looks like Connell Hayes has been cut.
Hayes fails with the takedown.
Hayes checks a low kick from Rauta.
Rauta fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hayes stuns Rauta with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Rauta with a poor takedown
and Hayes counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Hayes has taken the fight to the clinch.
Rauta goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Hayes wants to stall.
Rauta slows down the pace here.
Rauta tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hayes's elbow.
Rauta tries for a takedown but Hayes manages to get underhooks.
A hook to the body from Rauta.
Hayes has Rauta pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Rauta manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Rauta misses with a hook to the ribs.

Hayes has hold of one of Rauta's legs. Rauta is fighting the takedown attempt but Hayes gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Hayes postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rauta is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Hayes tries to get to full guard but Rauta has control of the leg.
Hayes throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Rauta blocks the strikes from Hayes.
Hayes is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hayes trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!
Hayes can't escape the position.
Rauta looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Hayes wants to hold on but Rauta pushes him away.
Rauta blocks Hayes's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Rauta tries to control but Hayes wriggling away.
Hayes on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Hayes tries to get out of the position.
Hayes gets back to half guard.
Hayes is pressing down on Rauta's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Hayes throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Hayes keeping moving, preventing Rauta from controlling successfully.
Rauta stopping the sweep attempt from Hayes.
Hayes trying to keep a closed guard but Rauta is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rauta preventing the sweep.
Hayes 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.
Hayes bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rauta's guard.
Hayes scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hayes looking to pass the guard.
Hayes trying to control the position from guard on top but Rauta is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rauta wants to stand and escape but Hayes is having none of it.
Rauta looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Rauta really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hayes. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Rauta scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Nice uppercut lands for Rauta. That snapped Hayes's head back.
Oh Hayes is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rauta changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Rauta throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hayes seems to have got his legs back now.
Rauta is looking to clinch but Hayes is avoiding it.
Hayes fails in his attempt to clinch.

Hayes shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Hayes showed some decent athleticism there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hayes thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rauta is trying to control but can't.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hayes lands a nice short elbow.
Hayes is tying to control. Rauta wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Hayes seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Hayes slips a nice elbow through Rauta's hands, connecting with Rauta's forehead.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hayes wants to take a breather but Rauta is having none of it.
Rauta blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hayes.
Hayes is nestled in close to Rauta, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Touko Rauta will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Connell Hayes's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Hayes looks for a takedown but Rauta sprawls well.
Hayes steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rauta.
Rauta throws a series of punches but Hayes avoids them all with ease.
Rauta stuffs the takedown attempt from Hayes. Hayes gets slowly back to his feet.
Rauta wants to clinch.
Hayes looks for a takedown but Rauta sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Connell Hayes. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice takedown defense from Rauta. No joy for Hayes on that attempt.

Hayes shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Hayes looking to sit in guard and control but Rauta gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Rauta trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hayes's guard.
Hayes throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hayes throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hayes throws a couple of heel strikes.
Rauta wanted to stand there but Hayes had control of the position.
Hayes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Hayes will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Hayes shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rauta but Rauta pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Hayes shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Rauta's guard.
Hayes scoring with some ground and pound.
Hayes passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Hayes cracks Rauta with a big elbow.
An elbow from Hayes crashes against the mat.
The strikes coming from Hayes are missing the target in this wave of attacks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rauta avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Hayes.
Rauta wants to get back to his feet but Hayes drags him back down.
Rauta tries to buck Hayes off but Hayes is having none of it.
Hayes is chipping away with strikes.
Rauta tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Hayes working the ground and pound from side control.
Hayes is trying to move to mount but Rauta reverses beautifully and ends up in Hayes's guard.
Hayes looking for a sweep. Not yet Hayes, not yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rauta trying to control but Hayes is working from the bottom.
Hayes wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rauta trying to control the position from guard on top but Hayes is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hayes 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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Hayes fails with the takedown.

Hayes looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Rauta blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hayes.
Rauta keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hayes throwing shots but Rauta is blocking nicely.
Hayes looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Rauta is trying to control but can't.
Hayes seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Rauta does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rauta wants to improve his position but Hayes is controlling well.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Hayes drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Rauta wants to stand and escape but Hayes is having none of it.
Hayes trying to control but Rauta is working from the bottom.
Hayes throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hayes postures up and lands a big shot to Rauta's brow.
Hayes won't allow Rauta to get back to his feet.
Hayes advances to half guard.
Hayes thows a huge punch but Rauta dodges it nicely.
Hayes not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Rauta on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Hayes connects with a nice short shot to Rauta's temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Connell Hayes dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Connell Hayes's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Rauta throws a series of punches but Hayes moves out of range.
Rauta throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Hayes counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Hayes lands strikes from half guard.
Rauta tries to roll over but Hayes keeps him under control.
Hayes landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Hayes slips a nice elbow through Rauta's hands, connecting with Rauta's forehead.
Rauta has hold of Hayes's hands but Hayes slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Rauta is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Hayes scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hayes is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Hayes is trying to control the action in half guard but Rauta is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hayes scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Connell Hayes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hayes sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rauta defending well though.
Rauta wants to control but Hayes is keeping busy.
Rauta wants to improve his position but Hayes is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hayes landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Rauta trying to hold on to Hayes's head to control him but Hayes postures up.
Rauta keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Rauta misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rauta swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Hayes counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Rauta!
Hayes landing punches.
Rauta really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Hayes with the ground and pound from mount.
Hayes is landing with some decent strikes but Rauta is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Hayes scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Rauta?
Hayes with a couple of short strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hayes with shots to the head and body - Rauta looks very uncomfortable down there.
Hayes lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Rauta hang on?
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Hayes cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Hayes lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
The referee warns Rauta that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hayes with shots to the head and body - Rauta looks very uncomfortable down there.

It looks like Touko Rauta has been cut.
Hayes lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
You get the feeling that Rauta really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Rauta takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Hayes cracks Rauta with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hayes lands a big shot there that rocks Rauta but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Hayes in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Rauta taking shots to the head.
Hayes looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hayes is landing with some decent strikes but Rauta is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Hayes with the ground and pound from mount.
A nice elbow there by Hayes.
Hayes in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Hayes putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Rauta tries to lock up and control but Hayes gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Hayes thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Rauta wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Hayes.
Rauta wants to get back to his feet.
Hayes prevents Rauta from getting the reversal.
Hayes trying to control but Rauta is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hayes looking to ground and pound but Rauta is blocking nicely.
Rauta taking shots to the head.
Hayes putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Rauta takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Hayes with good strikes from the mount here!
Hayes looking to finish Rauta with some ground and pound. This is bad for Rauta!
Hayes won't let Rauta get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Hayes landing punches.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
Hayes postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Rauta looks a forlorn figure.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hayes lands a big elbow.
Hayes landing strikes from the mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Connell Hayes showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Hayes 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:27
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 29:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Connell Hayes!