PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lanny Raymond (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Spadoni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lanny Raymond has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Raymond
vs
Spadoni

190 cm
25
194 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

180 cm
25
188 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Lanny Raymond!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Diego Spadoni!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Jonathan Paton and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Raymond stuffs the takedown attempt from Spadoni. Spadoni gets slowly back to his feet.
Raymond drops down looking for a counter takedown but Spadoni sprawls and moves away.
Spadoni fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Spadoni moves into the clinch.

Raymond breaks the clinch.
No luck for Spadoni with that takedown attempt.
Raymond is looking for a counter combo.
Lanny Raymond has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Spadoni.

Spadoni instigates a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Raymond pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Raymond gets tackled into the cage by Spadoni. Spadoni maintains the clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raymond is pressed up against the cage. Spadoni has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Raymond down to the mat. Raymond avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Spadoni throws a left and a right that both miss

and Raymond counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Raymond.
Spadoni controls Raymond momentarily but Raymond frees himself.
Raymond content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Raymond stands up from Spadoni's guard - Raymond perhaps looking for a knockout.

Spadoni gets tackled into the cage by Raymond. Raymond maintains the clinch.
Spadoni wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Raymond has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spadoni wants to break the clinch but can't.
Raymond leaning his opponent against the cage.
Spadoni has Raymond pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Raymond manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Raymond is struggling to control the position.
Raymond is trying to pull guard but Spadoni has him pressed against the cage.
Spadoni changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Raymond fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Spadoni shoots in and drives through. Raymond sprawls well.
Raymond half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Spadoni takes the fight into the clinch.
Raymond stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Raymond effectively controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A bit of stalling here from Raymond.
Raymond dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Raymond for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Lanny Raymond.
Spadoni throws a low kick but it's checked well by Raymond.
Raymond appears to be looking for a big counter.

Raymond tries to keep at a distance but Spadoni has taken the fight into the clinch.
Raymond lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Raymond breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Spadoni shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Raymond as he avoids it easily.
Spadoni fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Raymond keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Raymond appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spadoni misses with a takedown
and Raymond counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Spadoni thinking.
Spadoni looks winded!

Raymond clinches up with Spadoni and pushes him back against the cage.

Raymond manages to break the clinch.
Spadoni throws a left and a right that both miss
and Raymond counters with a left to the body.

Spadoni feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Raymond keeping moving, preventing Spadoni from controlling successfully.
Raymond is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lanny Raymond dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Spadoni manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Raymond on his heels. He'll look to pass Raymond's guard now, I'm sure.
Spadoni wants to control from the top but Raymond keeps moving.
Raymond wants to stand and escape but Spadoni is having none of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Spadoni trying to control the position from guard on top but Raymond is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Spadoni passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spadoni is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Raymond will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Spadoni stands up.
Raymond slips a jab from Spadoni.

Spadoni instigates a clinch.
Raymond drops down looking for an ankle pick but Spadoni pulls his leg out and moves away.
Raymond avoids the head kick by Spadoni.
Raymond went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Diego Spadoni seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Spadoni forces Raymond back against the cage and clinches.
Raymond taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Diego Spadoni seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raymond is looking to take this one to the mat.

Raymond pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Raymond takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

It looks like Lanny Raymond has been cut.
Spadoni attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Raymond slips a jab and a cross from Spadoni.
Spadoni misses with a jab, cross combination.
Raymond is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Nice jab there from Spadoni.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Spadoni closes the distance and clinches up with Raymond, looking for a takedown. Spadoni pushes Raymond against the cage but Raymond circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Spadoni is breathing heavily.
Raymond showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Spadoni.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spadoni lands a jab to the nose.
Spadoni throws a combination that misses

and Raymond counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Spadoni!

Raymond tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Raymond looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Spadoni is looking for a sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Raymond looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Spadoni tries to bench press Raymond off him but Raymond keeps the position.

Raymond thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Spadoni is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Spadoni showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Lanny Raymond's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Spadoni forces Raymond back against the cage and clinches.

Raymond breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Spadoni shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Raymond pinned against the cage. Raymond gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Raymond throws a big counter combination but Spadoni scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Lanny Raymond is winning the standup battle so far.
Horrible takedown attempt by Spadoni or perhaps it was just good defense by Raymond, which made it look bad.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Spadoni with a lazy takedown attempt
and Raymond counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Lanny Raymond has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diego Spadoni.
Spadoni is trying hard to land a takedown here. Raymond sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Spadoni shoots and misses
letting Raymond counter with a right hand.
Spadoni takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spadoni missing with a left hand there. Raymond was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Spadoni pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Spadoni fails to land the takedown.
Raymond seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Spadoni looking to land some kicks to the body here.

Spadoni fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Raymond, pushing him back against the cage.
Raymond leaning against his opponent.

Spadoni has picked Raymond up - he's going for a ride! Spadoni dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

Raymond has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Spadoni is on him like a limpet, forcing Raymond back against the cage.

Raymond escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Spadoni instigates a clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Raymond stalling the fight.
Raymond gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.

Raymond pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Spadoni swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Raymond moves into the clinch.

Raymond's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Spadoni looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Raymond shoots in and drives through. Spadoni sprawls well.
Horrible takedown attempt by Spadoni or perhaps it was just good defense by Raymond, which made it look bad.
Raymond swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Lanny Raymond is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spadoni throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Raymond counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Raymond turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Raymond manages to end up in side control.
Raymond in the domination position with Spadoni hanging on.
Spadoni wants to control but Raymond postures up.

Raymond goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Spadoni has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Raymond but great work by Spadoni.

Spadoni decides to stand back up.

Spadoni gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Spadoni gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Raymond escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Spadoni gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Raymond keeping moving, preventing Spadoni from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Raymond 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.
Spadoni controls from within his opponent's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Lanny Raymond.
I think Raymond 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:28
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lanny Raymond!