PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Raven Harris (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chance Spong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Raven Harris has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Harris
vs
Spong

175 cm
19
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

168 cm
19
168 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Experienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Raven Harris!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Chance Spong!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Paul Gruel and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Spong avoids a punch combination nicely.
Raven Harris seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Harris tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Spong is able to avoid easily.
Spong throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Harris wants to clinch but Spong slips to the side

and Spong counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Spong.
Spong tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Harris's elbow.
Harris has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.

Spong pulls guard effortlessly.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Harris got a little sloppy there for a moment and Spong has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Harris has managed to get both his arms back between Spong's legs - danger averted.

Spong is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Harris is aware though and is defending well.
Spong seems keen to control Harris's posture.
Spong is trying to control the position but Harris postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spong is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Spong controlling the action here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Spong wants to pass to mount but Harris is defending the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harris wants to get back to full guard.
Spong is trying to control the action in half guard but Harris is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Harris wants to control but Spong is keeping busy.

Chance Spong has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Harris tries to close the distance and clinch but Spong swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Harris misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Spong clinches with his opponent.
Spong struggles to land a body shot inside as Harris controls his hands.
Harris wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Harris looking to stall.
Spong misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Spong creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Harris wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Harris is trying to push Spong away but Spong has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Spong tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Harris's elbow.
Spong scores with a hook to the body.
Harris is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Spong misses with a punch to the body.

Spong jumps guard.
Spong is trying to control the position from the bottom.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Spong holds on and takes a little breather.
Harris has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harris tries to stand but Spong is controlling from the bottom.
Harris knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Spong on the ground.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Spong seems keen to control Harris's posture.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Chance Spong hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Harris throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A bone on bone clash there as Spong blocks the leg kick.
Spong misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Harris.
Harris moves in looking to clinch but Spong pushes him off.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Harris throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Harris doesn't manage to clinch there - Spong circles away.
Spong wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chance Spong dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Harris wants to clinch.
Harris misses with a wild combination.
Harris lands with a good body shot.
Harris wants to clinch.
Jab from Spong.
Harris tries to clinch but Spong moves away
and Spong counters with a right hand to the body.
A left and a right from Harris both land. Nice combination.
Harris looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Harris takes a shot right to the bread basket.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spong takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Spong doesn't manage to clinch there - Harris circles away.
Spong takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Spong throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Harris counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Harris misses with a low kick.
Harris throws a right and a left that Spong avoids nicely.
Harris tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Harris throws a left and a right that both miss

and Spong counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harris being controlled here, momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spong works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Spong is keen to just control but Harris is a slippery customer.
Spong controlling the pace.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Spong wants to pass to mount but Harris is defending the position.
Spong not doing much here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Chance Spong hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Harris throws out a leg kick but Spong moves out of range and Harris only half commits.
Harris misses with a jab, cross combination.
Harris misses with the combination.
Raven Harris is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Spong scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Harris tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Spong paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Spong ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Harris moves away.
A combination from Harris does no damage.
Spong checks the leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harris is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Harris scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Spong doesn't seem bothered though.

Spong fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Harris, pushing him back against the cage.
Spong misses with a punch to the body.
A short right from Spong.
Spong scores with a nice hook to the head.
Harris wants to break the clinch but can't.
Spong pushes Harris back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Harris prevents a body shot from Spong.
Harris working some nice short punches in the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Spong lands a shot 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!
Harris is looking to control Spong's arms but Spong gets an underhook and turns him. Now Harris has his back to the cage.
Spong jumps guard but Harris turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Harris is trying to break the clinch but Spong has him pressed against the cage.
Harris wants to stall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Chance Spong will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Harris's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Harris swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Spong counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Harris preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Spong scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Spong tries to free his leg and advance position but Harris is retaining full guard.
Spong throwing strikes from guard but Harris blocks nicely.
Spong controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Spong trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spong advances to half guard.
Spong is trying to control the action in half guard but Harris is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Spong thows a huge punch but Harris dodges it nicely.
Spong with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Spong sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Harris defending well though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Spong there.
Spong not doing much here.

Chance Spong has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Sloppy strikes from Spong. Those never looked like landing.
Spong has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Raven Harris is winning the standup battle so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harris tries to keep at a distance but Spong has taken the fight into the clinch.

Spong jumps guard and drags Harris to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Spong bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Harris's guard.
Spong throws a big elbow that misses.
Harris can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Spong controls the pace.
Harris keeping moving, preventing Spong from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spong throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Harris works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Raven Harris has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Spong stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Harris swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Chance Spong wasn't active enough on the ground.
A cross from Spong lands.
Harris swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Spong counters by moving into the clinch.
Spong tries to work over Harris's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Harris wants to get back to striking at distance but Spong won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Spong looking for a takedown.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Spong has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Harris uses from the top position.
Spong has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chance Spong comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Spong 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chance Spong!