PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Carl Craik (ranked 4896 p4p, 408 weight class) and Steven Pelican (ranked 4122 p4p, 370 weight class). Carl Craik had real problems making weight for this fight. After initially coming in at 156.3lbs, he had two hours to make the official fight weight. He made it but it will have taken a lot out of him to cut those extra few pounds. Carl Craik looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Craik
vs
Pelican

160 cm
25
160 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

178 cm
18
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Carl Craik!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Steven Pelican !
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, William Gold and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pelican shoots in for a takedown but Craik shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Craik looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Pelican tries to clinch up but Craik circles away and keeps his distance.
Craik keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Pelican dives in and grabs Craik's left leg, looking for a takedown. Craik pushes down on Pelican 's head and hops out.
Carl Craik has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steven Pelican .
Pelican shoots in for a double leg but Craik sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Craik appears to be looking for a big counter.

Craik closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Pelican seems a little lost for a moment, as Craik dominates the positioning.
Pelican is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Craik working the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Craik is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Pelican will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Pelican manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Craik might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pelican looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Pelican is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Craik defends it well.

Pelican is working for a submission of some sort.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Pelican is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Craik doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Pelican .
Pelican trying to mount his opponent but Craik defends it.
Pelican throwing shots but Craik is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Craik is in trouble now - Pelican has advanced to mount!

Pelican has hold of Craik's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Craik manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Pelican trying to control but Craik is having none of it.
Pelican throws a sloppy strike and Craik uses the opportunity to reverse the position! A bit of a scramble here and Craik has ended up in Pelican 's guard.
Pelican throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pelican has his foot on Craik's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Craik works his way back into a safe position though.
Our spies down at at Texoma Fight Academy inform us that Pelican has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?

Pelican working for a triangle but Craik defends it easily.
Craik stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pelican swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Pelican throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Craik got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pelican has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Craik has managed to get both his arms back between Pelican 's legs - danger averted.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Pelican throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Craik with a nice head shot there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Steven Pelican will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Craik looks to land a left hand but Pelican moved out of range nicely.
Pelican tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

Craik gets tackled into the cage by Pelican . Pelican maintains the clinch.

Craik manages to break the clinch.
Carl Craik is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pelican fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Pelican staying out of range there.
Craik avoids a punch combination nicely.
Craik misses with a takedown attempt - Pelican sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pelican tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Craik swivels and escapes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Pelican closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Craik did well to prevent Pelican getting side control.
Pelican throwing shots but Craik is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pelican not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Pelican missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Pelican has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Pelican thows a huge punch but Craik dodges it nicely.
Pelican not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Pelican wants to lay and pray for a moment but Craik keeps working.

Pelican is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Craik definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Craik is defending against the submission attempts here by Pelican .

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Craik keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Pelican wants to control but Craik is keeping him busy.
Pelican missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Craik is defending against the submission attempts here by Pelican .

Pelican is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Craik doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Pelican .

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pelican sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Craik defending well though.
Pelican throwing shots but Craik is blocking nicely.
Pelican throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Pelican is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Craik is in trouble now - Pelican has advanced to mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Craik defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Pelican .

Pelican is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Craik can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Craik is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steven Pelican showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Pelican goes for a double leg but Craik avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Craik continues to drive forward.
Craik wants to clinch up but Pelican keeps it at a distance.
Craik leaves Pelican with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Pelican misses with a takedown attempt - Craik sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Carl Craik has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Steven Pelican .
Pelican misses with a takedown attempt - Craik sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Craik rushes Pelican and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Craik prevents a takedown attempt there.
Craik tries for a takedown but Pelican manages to get underhooks.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craik is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Pelican tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Craik avoids it.
Craik prevents a takedown attempt there.
Pelican is trying to drag Craik to the mat but Craik just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Pelican is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Pelican fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Pelican has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Pelican taking a breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Craik wants a takedown.
Pelican has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Craik is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Pelican can't get the takedown.
Craik is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Pelican has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Craik avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Steven Pelican is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Craik lands a takedown into guard.

Pelican wriggles free and stands up.
Pelican shoots in for a takedown but Craik shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Pelican fails to land the takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pelican is looking to clinch but Craik is avoiding it.
Craik swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Pelican shoots for a double leg takedown but Craik sprawls well. He's pushed Pelican 's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Craik appears to be looking for a big counter.
Craik displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Pelican .
Craik tries to counter by clinching up but Pelican breaks away and moves out of range.
Craik throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Craik stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Craik wants it to stay on the feet.

Pelican shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Craik is trying to defend but Pelican finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Pelican works his way into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pelican just content to control the position.
Pelican trying to control the action but Craik is working from the bottom.

Pelican looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pelican content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

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 Carl Craik.
I think Pelican has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Gold scores the fight 27:30
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Steven Pelican !