PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ash Thomas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jenson Rawlins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jenson Rawlins acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Thomas
vs
Rawlins

182 cm
27
178 lbs
12 - 2 - 0

183 cm
28
181 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Very strong

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

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 12 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ash Thomas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jenson Rawlins!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Steve Smith and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rawlins swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Thomas cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Thomas thuds his shin into the meat of Rawlins's side.
Rawlins fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Thomas takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Rawlins throws out a loose jab but Thomas uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rawlins throws a chopping leg kick but Thomas manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Thomas. Rawlins does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rawlins throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Thomas counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rawlins moves out of range as Thomas throws a body kick.
Thomas misses with a wild combination.
Ash Thomas is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rawlins misses with a low kick.
Thomas misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rawlins.
Thomas lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rawlins. Thomas does a little dance to reset his feet.
Thomas thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Rawlins if he has to take too many more of those.
That kick from Thomas tenderised Rawlins's leg. Rawlins is trying to keep his angry face on.
Rawlins looks gassed!
Rawlins has his takedown stuffed
and Thomas counters with a left to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Jab by Thomas.

It looks like Jenson Rawlins has been cut.
Thomas pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Rawlins will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Ash Thomas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jenson Rawlins.
An inside leg kick lands from Thomas.
Thomas feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Rawlins's calf.
Thomas throws a head kick but Rawlins moves out of range.
Rawlins displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Thomas throws out the jab.
Thomas feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Rawlins's calf.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas throws the kick towards the body but Rawlins avoids it.
Rawlins takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Ash Thomas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A nice leg kick lands there from Thomas.
Thomas comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Jab, jab by Thomas - just one landing.
Rawlins takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Thomas buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Thomas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thomas connects with a leg kick. Rawlins looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Rawlins takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Thomas stuns Rawlins with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Thomas lands a jab to Rawlins's midsection.
A lazy left from Thomas finds it's target.
Thomas with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Thomas scores with a kick to the body.
Rawlins takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ash Thomas dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jenson Rawlins's cut.
That's time! Thomas's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Thomas throws a shot to the body.
Thomas throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Rawlins swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Thomas, right into the meat.
Thomas thumps Rawlins with a low kick.
Thomas thows a left - swing and a miss!
Thomas chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Rawlins's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Rawlins is breathing heavily.
A big right from Thomas misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas misses with an attempted mid kick.
Rawlins finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Thomas misses with a body kick.
Ash Thomas is winning the standup battle so far.
Thomas bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Thomas scores with a push kick.
Thomas misses the jab.
Thomas thows a body shot but no joy.
Thomas fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thomas tests Rawlins's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Nice straight punches there by Thomas. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Thomas.
Thomas buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Thomas gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Rawlins takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Rawlins chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Thomas can pounce on him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thomas with a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rawlins takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Rawlins misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Thomas.
Thomas fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rawlins manages to avoid it.
Rawlins ducks under a wild hook from Thomas.
Thomas tries to score with a low kick but Rawlins moves his leg out of the way.
Thomas throws a leg kick but Rawlins moved away.
Rawlins tries for a takedown but Thomas sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A left lands for Thomas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Thomas connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Rawlins momentarily.
Thomas throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thomas is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Rawlins throws a leg kick that is checked
and Thomas counters with a nice body kick.
Rawlins moves away from the strike by Thomas.
A low kick from Thomas is predictable there

and Rawlins counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Thomas!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rawlins trying to control but Thomas is having none of it.
Rawlins tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ash Thomas dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Jenson Rawlins's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Thomas dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Rawlins has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Thomas.
Thomas clobbers Rawlins with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Rawlins looks to land a right hand but Thomas moved out of range.
Thomas is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rawlins can do to turn this around?
Rawlins swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rawlins takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Thomas stuffs the takedown.
Rawlins takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thomas looks to throw the jab but Rawlins is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas misses with a looping right.
Thomas checks a low kick from Rawlins.
Jab from Thomas.
Thomas throws a nice looking combination but Rawlins bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Thomas is looking to slow Rawlins down with leg kicks.
Thomas moves out of range of the leg kick from Rawlins.
Rawlins tried to score with a low kick but Thomas checks it.
Thomas doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circle momentarily. Thomas darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Rawlins fails to land the takedown.
Thomas cracks Rawlins with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Thomas misses with a straight right.
Thomas lunges at Rawlins with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Rawlins's hand.
Rawlins misses with a hook. Thomas ducked under it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Thomas checks a leg kick nicely.
Thomas swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Rawlins counters with a single leg into guard. Thomas didn't expect that.
Rawlins looking to sit in guard and control but Thomas gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Rawlins has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Thomas is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Rawlins.
Jenson Rawlins has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thomas just content to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rawlins is trying to control Thomas's posture but Thomas avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ash Thomas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Thomas, 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:26
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:26
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ash Thomas!