PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jonathan Hawkes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kim Jong Il (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jong Il has chosen Lights by Interpol as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Hawkes
vs
Jong Il

180 cm
24
181 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

199 cm
21
183 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jonathan Hawkes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kim Jong Il!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Hirohito Nitta and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jong Il scores with a nice head shot.
Jong Il has his takedown stuffed

and Hawkes counters with a crisp right hand that drops Jong Il! Hawkes lets Jong Il back up to his feet, looking for a finish!
Hawkes throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Jong Il counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hawkes avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hawkes is pulling down on Jong Il's head. It's preventing any offense from Jong Il, at least for the moment.
Hawkes looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Hawkes has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Hawkes might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Jong Il stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hawkes swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Jong Il postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jonathan Hawkes wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Hawkes throws a head kick but Jong Il moves out of range.
Hawkes throws a poor cross that misses

so Jong Il counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Jong Il thows a big elbow that misses.
Jong Il stops Hawkes from standing up.
Jong Il throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hawkes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Jong Il advances to half guard.
Nice strikes from Jong Il there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hawkes is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Jong Il throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Jong Il throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Jong Il missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Jong Il.
Jong Il wants to stand but Hawkes is controlling his posture from full guard.
Jong Il wants to control from the top but Hawkes keeps moving.
Jong Il loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hawkes tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Jong Il passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Hawkes avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Jong Il.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Jong Il.
Jong Il has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Jong Il working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Jong Il trying to control the position but Hawkes is working away.
Jong Il working the ground and pound.
Jong Il is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Jong Il scoring with punches and elbows.
Hawkes is looking to reverse the position.
Hawkes struggling a bit here.
Jong Il looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Hawkes is avoiding damage well.
Jong Il trying to control the position but Hawkes is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes is looking to regain half guard here but Jong Il keeps moving and retains side control.
Hawkes takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Jong Il wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hawkes keeps working.
Jong Il taking a break here but Hawkes is having none of it and regains half guard.
Jong Il trying to control the action but Hawkes is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jong Il winds up and cracks Hawkes with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kim Jong Il dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Jong Il looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Hawkes misses with a leg kick

and Jong Il decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Hawkes's guard.
Jong Il looking to sit in guard and control but Hawkes gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hawkes accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Hawkes won't allow Jong Il to sweep him here.
Hawkes trying to control the position from guard on top but Jong Il is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hawkes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Jong Il is keeping the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hawkes content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Kim Jong Il has got the better of the ground game so far.
Hawkes looking to pass the guard.
Hawkes with a nice head shot there.
Hawkes wants to pass the guard but Jong Il is keeping the position.
Jong Il bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Hawkes's guard.
Jong Il throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hawkes works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes wants to sweep here but Jong Il controlling him for the moment.
Hawkes is controlling Jong Il's posture.
Hawkes manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Jong Il manages to get himself to full guard.
Hawkes won't allow Jong Il to sweep him here.
Jong Il is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Jong Il keeping moving, preventing Hawkes from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jong Il manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Hawkes manages to get himself to full guard.
Jong Il is pushing down on Hawkes's leg trying to pass to half guard. Hawkes is fighting to maintain full guard but Jong Il has managed to sneak the leg through.
Jong Il wants to control but Hawkes is keeping him busy.
Jong Il not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hawkes is looking to control Jong Il's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Hawkes avoid being mounted?
Jong Il lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Jong Il stalling.
Hawkes is not content to let Jong Il control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hawkes controlling the position well.
Jong Il trying to control from Hawkes's half guard. Hawkes has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Hawkes looking for a sweep. Not yet Hawkes, not yet.
Jong Il trying to control but Hawkes is working from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hawkes looking to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kim Jong Il showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Hawkes misses with a double jab
and Jong Il connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Hawkes throws a body kick the misses
and Jong Il counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Jong Il fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hawkes looks to clinch
and Jong Il counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Hawkes throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hawkes takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Jong Il lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Hawkes delivers a nice body kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Jong Il. Hawkes does a little dance to reset his feet.
Jong Il lands a nice hook to Hawkes's body. Hawkes takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Jong Il dips to his left and cracks Hawkes with an uppercut!
Hawkes throws a head kick that misses.
Nice cross by Jong Il.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jong Il lands a slapping body shot.
Hawkes closes the distance looking to clinch
letting Jong Il counter with a right hand.
Jong Il has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Jong Il connects with a body shot.
Hawkes throws a lazy head kick
and Jong Il counters with a right hand to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hawkes walks into a stiff left hand from Jong Il.
Jong Il connects with a body shot.
An inside leg kick from Hawkes misses.
Jong Il scores with a crisp jab that stopped Hawkes in his tracks.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Jong Il checks a leg kick.
Jong Il tries for a takedown but Hawkes sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Hawkes moves to clinch but Jong Il breaks away
and Jong Il counters with a left and a right that stings Hawkes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jong Il scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Jong Il blocks a head kick by Hawkes.
Jonathan Hawkes is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hawkes misses with a shot to the body
and Jong Il counters with a two punch combo.
Jong Il fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Jong Il is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

Jong Il scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Jong Il perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Jong Il thows a huge punch but Hawkes dodges it nicely.
Jong Il seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Hawkes is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jong Il working the head and body with strikes.
Hawkes won't allow Jong Il to pass to mount.
Hawkes wants to control but Jong Il is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Jong Il working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Jong Il lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Hawkes is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Jong Il scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hawkes is not content to let Jong Il control the position.
Jonathan Hawkes has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hawkes trying to control from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hawkes is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Jong Il scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jong Il prevents Hawkes from standing back up.
Jong Il throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Jong Il not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Jong Il trying to control the action but Hawkes is working from the bottom.
Jong Il landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Jong Il missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Jong Il is pressing down on Hawkes's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hawkes is holding on for now.
Jong Il trying to control the action but Hawkes is working from the bottom.
Hawkes has hold of Jong Il's hands but Jong Il slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kim Jong Il comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Jong Il 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kim Jong Il!