PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Bong Ji Woo (ranked 151 p4p, 140 weight class) and Ernest Graves (ranked 19 p4p, 18 weight class). Bong Ji Woo has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Ji Woo
vs
Graves

179 cm
30
165
16 - 3 - 0

172 cm
36
160
33 - 27 - 2

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Red Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Conviction
Conquer

Voodoo Nutrition
HELLBENT

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 16 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Bong Ji Woo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 33 - 27 - 2, fighting out of Tokyo, Ernest Graves!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Frank Antenori and Percy O'Donnell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ji Woo connects with a looping right hand.
Ji Woo pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ji Woo swings widly with a right hand
and Graves counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Graves scores with a body shot.
Graves slips under a jab.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Graves is trying to drag Ji Woo to the mat but Ji Woo just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Ji Woo gets through Graves's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ji Woo has a couple of punches blocked by Graves.
Ji Woo lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Ji Woo lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Graves is looking to control Ji Woo's arms but Ji Woo gets an underhook and turns him. Now Graves has his back to the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ji Woo.

Graves gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ji Woo moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Graves stopping the sweep attempt from Ji Woo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ji Woo is keeping the position for now.
Ji Woo keeping moving, preventing Graves from controlling successfully.
Graves looking to pass the guard.
Graves trying to control but Ji Woo is working from the bottom.
Ji Woo is adopting a defensive guard.
Ji Woo is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Graves slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Graves lands a few punches from side control.
Graves throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Ji Woo prevents Graves from moving into mount.
Ji Woo is trying to improve his position.
Graves working the body and head with strikes.
Graves lands a nice forearm strike.
Ji Woo is looking for a sweep.
Graves lands a few punches from side control.
Graves scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Ji Woo to see if he's OK.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Graves working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Graves grinds an elbow into Ji Woo's temple.
Ji Woo is looking for a sweep.
Graves is trying to move to mount but Ji Woo reverses beautifully and ends up in Graves's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Graves is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ji Woo sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Graves's guard.
Graves manages to get to full guard.
Graves wants to sweep here but Ji Woo controlling him for the moment.
Ji Woo wants to control from the top but Graves keeps moving.
Ji Woo is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Ji Woo trying to control the position from guard on top but Graves is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Graves has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Ji Woo has passed into side control.
Graves is trying to get back to half guard.
Graves is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Ji Woo off and has taken his back!
Graves has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Ji Woo.
Ji Woo can't escape the position.
Graves is punishing Ji Woo with some ground and pound.
Graves scores with strikes from the back.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ernest Graves dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Ji Woo looking to land some kicks to the body here.
A shot to the body from Graves misses
and Ji Woo counters with a lovely straight right hand!

It looks like Ernest Graves has been cut.
Ji Woo throws out a loose jab but Graves uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ji Woo digs a good body shot into Graves's ribs.
Graves punishes Ji Woo's body with a nice straight punch.
Graves stuns Ji Woo with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Ji Woo lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Ji Woo moves out of range of the strikes.

Ji Woo closes the distance and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Graves is working for takedown but Ji Woo is calmly controlling the position for now.
Ji Woo has a couple of punches blocked by Graves.
A head punch on the inside from Graves fails to land.
Graves prevents a body shot from Ji Woo.
Graves tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
I was talking to Ji Woo's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

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

Graves throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Ji Woo tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Graves is in Ji Woo's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves wants to control from the top but Ji Woo keeps moving.
Ji Woo 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.
Ji Woo trying to keep a closed guard but Graves is proving a slippery customer.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Graves pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ji Woo is keeping the position for now.
Graves has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Graves sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Ji Woo's guard.
Graves trying to mount his opponent but Ji Woo defends it.
Ji Woo is looking for a sweep. Graves is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Graves takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ji Woo gets back to full guard.
Ji Woo controls Graves momentarily but Graves frees himself.
Ernest Graves has got the better of the ground game so far.

Ji Woo throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Ji Woo wants to sweep here but Graves controlling him for the moment.
Graves looking to pass the guard.

Ji Woo isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Graves stacks Ji Woo on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Graves!
Ji Woo is not content to let Graves control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ji Woo is looking for a sweep.
Graves throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Ji Woo wants to control but Graves postures up.
Graves works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Graves lands an elbow.
Ji Woo tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Graves tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Graves trying to control the action but Ji Woo is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ji Woo tries to improve position but can't.
Graves tries to advance to mount but Ji Woo denies him.
Ji Woo is looking for a sweep.
Graves tries to advance to mount but Ji Woo denies him.
Graves is looking to take a break and control but Ji Woo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Graves cracks Ji Woo with a big elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ernest Graves showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ernest Graves's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Ji Woo rushes Graves and presses him up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ji Woo.
Graves tries for a takedown but Ji Woo manages to get underhooks.
Graves working aggressively here.

Graves has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Ji Woo uses from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ji Woo wants to control from the top but Graves keeps moving.
Graves tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Graves keeping moving, preventing Ji Woo from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Graves wants to sweep but no luck.
Graves has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Ji Woo has passed into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Ji Woo moves into full mount! Graves won't be happy about that!
Graves is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

Graves tries to improve his position but Ji Woo has taken his back! Ji Woo has a choke - it's sunk in pretty tight... Will Graves tap? No... maybe... yes! He's tapped! Ji Woo pushes Graves away and gets up to celebrate with his corner!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:43 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Bong Ji Woo!
Bong Ji Woo seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.