PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lay Pray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kurt Karlsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pray comes into the arena with Don't Fear the Reaper- Blue Oyster Cult blaring out of the sound system. Karlsson comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Surfin´ bird kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! 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.

Pray
vs
Karlsson

225 cm
35
300 lbs
15 - 23 - 0

225 cm
31
300 lbs
16 - 14 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Experienced

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 23 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lay Pray!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 14 - 0, fighting out of London, Kurt Karlsson!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, David Schapiro and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karlsson scores with a head kick.
Pray shoots in but Karlsson avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Pray avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Pray avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Pray will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Karlsson tries to clinch

and Pray counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Pray keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Karlsson has one foot on Pray's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Pray takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Pray takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Pray shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Karlsson as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lay Pray. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pray fails with the takedown.
Pray rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Karlsson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Karlsson scores with a hook.

Karlsson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pray, pushing him back against the cage.
Karlsson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Pray in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Pray is breathing heavily.
Karlsson landing knees to the head.
Karlsson landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karlsson looking to throw knees to the head but Pray is blocking nicely.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Karlsson obliges.
Pray takes a knee to the side of the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karlsson lands an uppercut.
Karlsson gets underhooks to prevent Pray's takedown attempt.
Karlsson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Nice body punch from Karlsson - that landed with a thud.
Karlsson digs a right hand into Pray's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Pray's gas tank.
Karlsson lands a nice shot to the body.
Karlsson scores with a knee to the head.
Karlsson lands a knee to the head.
Karlsson lands a nice knee to the body.
Pray fails to pull guard.
Karlsson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Karlsson.
Karlsson lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Karlsson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Pray's face.
Karlsson misses with a knee to the head.
Karlsson landing knees to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Karlsson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Karlsson has taken the fight to the clinch.
Karlsson crunches a lovely knee into Pray's ribcage.
Karlsson scores with a knee to the head.
Karlsson using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pray has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Karlsson lands a right hand that snaps the head of Pray backwards.
Karlsson lands a body shot in the clinch.
Karlsson unloads a knee to the mid-section. Pray lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Pray's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Karlsson throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Pray blocks it with crossed arms.
Pray avoiding damage as Karlsson throws knees to the body.
Karlsson prevents the takedown attempt.
Karlsson lands a good knee to the midsection. Pray won't want to take too many of those.
Karlsson utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Karlsson with a knee to the head.
Karlsson lands a knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pray takes a shot to the head.
A left hand lands to the body for Karlsson.
Pray is trying to drag Karlsson to the mat but Karlsson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
A knee to the head by Karlsson.
Karlsson connects with a knee to the head.
Karlsson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Pray wants a takedown but no success here.
Karlsson utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Karlsson lands with a right to the head.
A knee to the head by Karlsson.
Karlsson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Pray's face.
Karlsson unloads a knee to the mid-section. Pray lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karlsson utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Pray drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Karlsson gets the underhooks and prevents it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karlsson lands a good knee to the midsection. Pray won't want to take too many of those.
A right hook to the body lands for Karlsson.
Karlsson lands a hook that snaps the head of Pray backwards.
Karlsson landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Karlsson scores a nice knee to the body.
Karlsson connects with a knee to the head.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Karlsson pushes Pray back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Karlsson lands a nice knee to the body.
Pray's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Karlsson connects with a knee to the head.
Pray takes a knee right on the jaw!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Karlsson lands a knee to the body.
Karlsson misses with a knee strike.
Pray is looking for a takedown.
Karlsson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kurt Karlsson dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

The fight stays on the outside here - Karlsson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Pray avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Karlsson pushes Pray up against the cage in a clinch.
Pray is looking to take this one to the mat.
Pray is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Karlsson gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Pray.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lay Pray. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Karlsson scores with a knee to the head.
Karlsson works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Karlsson scores with a knee to the head.
Karlsson throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Karlsson lands a shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Karlsson scores a nice knee to the body.
Karlsson works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
A nice left hand lands by Karlsson.
Karlsson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Karlsson with a knee to the head.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Karlsson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karlsson lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Pray or not.
Karlsson pushes Pray back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Karlsson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Karlsson lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Nice body punch from Karlsson - that landed with a thud.
Karlsson connects with a knee to the head.
Karlsson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Karlsson lands a knee to the body.
Karlsson landing knees to the head.

Karlsson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Karlsson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Pray on the side of the head.
Pray shoots in looking for a takedown. Karlsson tries to sprawl out of it but Pray keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Karlsson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Karlsson tries to clinch up.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Pray.
Karlsson scores with a nice head shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Karlsson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pray, pushing him back against the cage.
Karlsson lands a shoulder strike.
Pray is working for takedown but Karlsson is calmly controlling the position for now.
Karlsson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Karlsson lands a knee to the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Karlsson.
Karlsson landing knees to the head.
Karlsson struggles to land a body shot inside as Pray controls his hands.
Pray has Karlsson pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Karlsson manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Karlsson with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

Pray is rocked!
Knees in the clinch landing for Karlsson.
Oh Pray is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Karlsson with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Karlsson landing knees to the body.
Pray is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Karlsson is defending well.
Karlsson lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Karlsson landing knees to the body.
Pray throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Karlsson blocks it with crossed arms.
Karlsson with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Karlsson throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pray pulls guard successfully.

Karlsson gets to his feet - Pray follows without any prompting.
Pray shoots in looking for a takedown but Karlsson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pray's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Pray seems to have got his legs back now.
Pray fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
The fight stays on the outside here - Karlsson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Karlsson thumps Pray with a low kick.
Karlsson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pray swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pray shoots and misses

and Karlsson counters by clinching up.
Karlsson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Karlsson utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Karlsson tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Karlsson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Pray's face.

Pray breaks from the clinch.
Lay Pray is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pray fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Karlsson avoids it really well and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karlsson's corner calls for a 1-2. Karlsson obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

Karlsson rushes Pray and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Karlsson landing knees to the head.
Knees to the body from Karlsson.
A nice left hand lands by Karlsson.
Karlsson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
A knee to the head by Karlsson.

Pray has Karlsson pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Pray pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Karlsson tumbling to the mat - Pray dives into Karlsson's guard.
Karlsson keeping moving, preventing Pray from controlling successfully.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Karlsson wants to stand but Pray is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kurt Karlsson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Pray shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Karlsson but Karlsson pushes him off and we're back to square one.
A combination from Pray does no damage.
Pray doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Karlsson counters with a nice body kick.
Karlsson with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Karlsson scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Pray doesn't seem bothered though.
Pray avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Pray fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lay Pray. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pray steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Karlsson. That one must have hurt.
Karlsson scores with a head kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karlsson tries to clinch but Pray moves out of range.
Karlsson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Pray will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Karlsson wants to clinch up but Pray keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karlsson fakes the leg kick and cracks Pray in the body.
Pray fails with a takedown attempt.
Karlsson tries to clinch but Pray is having none of it.
Pray sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

Karlsson rushes Pray and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Knees to the body from Karlsson.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Karlsson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Karlsson tries to clinch there but Pray circles away.
Pray closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Karlsson.
Pray takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
A head kick misses from Karlsson.
The fight stays on the outside here - Karlsson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Karlsson fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karlsson connects with a looping right hand.
Pray shoots in and drives through. Karlsson sprawls well.
Karlsson scores with a kick to the midsection.
Pray has his takedown stuffed
and Karlsson counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Pray is lucky that one didn't land flush.

Karlsson gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Pray will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Karlsson unloads a knee to the mid-section. Pray lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Knees in the clinch landing for Karlsson.
Karlsson tries a knee to the head but Pray blocks it.
Pray can't get the takedown.
A nice right hand lands inside from Karlsson.
Nice body punch from Karlsson - that landed with a thud.
Karlsson scores with a hook to the body.
Pray looking for a takedown.
Karlsson lands a right hand.
Karlsson scores a nice knee to the body.
Karlsson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Pray backwards.
Kurt Karlsson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pray can't get the takedown.
Karlsson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Karlsson landing knees to the head.
Karlsson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.

Karlsson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Pray looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Karlsson wants to stand up but Pray is controlling him.
Pray trying to control but Karlsson is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pray loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Pray trying to control the position from guard on top but Karlsson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Lay Pray.

Pray gets tackled into the cage by Karlsson. Karlsson maintains the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karlsson gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Pray.
A shot in the inside from Karlsson.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Karlsson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Pray in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Karlsson crunches a lovely knee into Pray's ribcage.
Lay Pray has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Karlsson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Pray's face.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kurt Karlsson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Karlsson 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 27:30
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kurt Karlsson!
Kurt Karlsson was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.