PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ty Rawlins (ranked 3401 p4p, 5028 weight class) and Kang Richards (ranked 311 p4p, 357 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Rawlins
vs
Richards

179 cm
25
154
1 - 0 - 0

173 cm
20
155
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Powerful

Shadow Realm NYC

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ty Rawlins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kang Richards!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Franklyn Lucas and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rawlins throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Richards's waist but Richards gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rawlins off to one side.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Rawlins defends it well.
Rawlins swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Richards circles away from the clinch attempt

and Richards counters with a takedown into side control.
Rawlins wants to get back to his feet but Richards drags him back down.
Rawlins regains half guard.
Richards really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rawlins. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Richards slows the pace down in half guard.
Rawlins 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rawlins trying to control here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Richards controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Richards stops Rawlins from getting back to his feet.
Well, if Richards is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rawlins pushes Richards off looking to stand but Richards dives back in and keeps control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Nice defenses there by Richards.
Rawlins closes the distance and clinches up with Richards, looking for a takedown. Rawlins pushes Richards against the cage but Richards circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Rawlins defends it well.
Richards walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Rawlins dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Rawlins jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Rawlins throws a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rawlins shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ty Rawlins. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rawlins misses with a hook. Richards ducked under it nicely.
Richards is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Rawlins swings widly with a right hand

and Richards counters with a takedown into side control.
Rawlins trying to remain calm as Richards controls from the top position.
More stalling from Richards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rawlins is trying to control Richards's posture but Richards avoids it.
Richards is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Rawlins will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rawlins is trying to get back to his feet.
Richards is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Rawlins's shoulder. That is not cool.
Let's hope that Richards has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
It looks like Richards might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Richards with more of the same as he continues to hold on.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Kang Richards will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Rawlins with a nice cross.

Richards tries to keep at a distance but Rawlins has taken the fight into the clinch.
Richards can't get the takedown.
Richards wants a takedown but no success here.
Rawlins working aggressively here.
Richards tries for a takedown. No joy.
Ty Rawlins has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kang Richards.
Rawlins lands with a right to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rawlins prevents the takedown attempt.
Rawlins lands a body shot.
Rawlins misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Richards has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Rawlins is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Rawlins fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rawlins gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Richards.
Richards goes for a takedown attempt but Rawlins pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Richards.
Ty Rawlins seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Richards stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Richards wants it to stay on the feet.
Richards changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Rawlins throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Richards with the counter takedown but Rawlins avoids it easily.
Rawlins misses with a hook.
Rawlins with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Richards defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rawlins.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Rawlins fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Richards manages to avoid it.
Richards stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Richards wants it to stay on the feet.
Richards with the counter takedown but Rawlins avoids it easily.
Rawlins misses with a looping left.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Rawlins defends it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rawlins will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Richards with the counter takedown but Rawlins avoids it easily.
Rawlins fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rawlins tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Richards was well out of range. Poor timing from Rawlins.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Rawlins defends it well.
Rawlins misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Rawlins lands with a good body shot.
Rawlins misses the shot to the body.
Rawlins rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Richards counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Rawlins!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rawlins seems a little lost for a moment, as Richards dominates the positioning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rawlins stops Richards from passing to mount.
Richards is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Rawlins's shoulder. That is not cool.
Richards is continuing to stall.
Richards tries to move into full mount but can't pass Rawlins's legs.
A lull in the action here as Richards stalls from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Kang Richards has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rawlins is looking to reverse the position.
Richards moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The adventures of Richards the control monster continue. Boring.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ty Rawlins dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Richards slips a straight right by Rawlins.
Rawlins misses with a hook

and Richards decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Rawlins's guard.
Richards engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Richards working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Richards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Richards dodges the punch combination from Rawlins.
Richards is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Rawlins swings for the body but Richards moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Rawlins misses the jab.
A big left from Rawlins misses.
Richards feints the counter takedown.
Rawlins misses with a looping right.
Richards displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rawlins.
Rawlins throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Rawlins defends it well.
Rawlins throws a leg kick

and Richards counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Rawlins!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rawlins wants to control but Richards postures up.
Richards remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

That's four 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.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kang Richards comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Richards 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 28:29
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kang Richards!
An out of breath Kang Richards thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.