PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rashad Evans (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and iwanna box (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Evans comes to the cage accompanied by Pursuit of Happiness. iwanna box has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Evans
vs
box

175 cm
18
200 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

185 cm
19
199 lbs
4 - 9 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Great elbows
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rashad Evans!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, iwanna box!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Tiny Johnson and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Evans lands with a kick to the temple. box shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
box swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
box misses with a two punch combination.
box misses with a series of wild punches.
box lunges at Evans with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Evans's hand.

It looks like Rashad Evans has been cut.
Nice uppercut there from Evans.
A slow jab from box misses its intended target.
box misses with an uppercut.
Evans slips a straight right by box.
Evans scores with a decent looking hook.
box swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Evans closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Evans connects with a nice short shot to box's temple.
box really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Evans. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Evans passes the guard and advances to mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee warns box that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Evans landing shots from mount.
Evans landing strikes from the mount.
Evans controlling from the full mount.

Evans looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Evans unloading with bombs!
The referee warns box that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Evans lands with some strikes.
Evans lands with some vicious ground and pound - can box hang on?
Evans has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of box's face.
box really wants to buck Evans off and get back to his feet.
Evans working the ground and pound effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Evans lands a heavy elbow.
Evans could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Evans looking for a guillotine from mount but box is having none of it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Evans fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Evans is breathing heavily.
box is trying to stand up.
Evans lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
The referee warns box that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Evans looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Evans postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. box looks a forlorn figure.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
box wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Evans punishing his opponent with strikes.
Evans content just to control the position here.
Evans lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
box is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Evans working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Evans pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Evans breaks from box's wrist control and lands an elbow.
You get the feeling that box really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Evans landing shots from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Evans is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Evans working box over with strikes here.
A nice elbow there by Evans.
box is trying to stand up.
Evans lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Evans takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
A nice elbow there by Evans.
Evans landing punches.
Evans pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Evans cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Evans trying to control but box is having none of it.
Evans landing punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rashad Evans dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rashad Evans's cut.
That's time! Evans's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Evans cracks box with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
iwanna box seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
box misses with a two punch combination.

Evans 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.
Evans is working box over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Evans controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
box keeping moving, preventing Evans from controlling successfully.
Evans has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Evans distracts box with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Evans stands up from guard. Let's bang!
box misses with a few strikes there.
box looks to land a combination but Evans avoids it well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans slips under a jab from box.
box fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Evans clinches up with box and pushes him back against the cage.
box is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Evans stalls.

Evans pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Evans avoids a punch combination nicely.
Evans punishes box's body with a nice straight punch.
iwanna box is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Evans scores with a head kick.
Evans scores with a nice right hand.
Evans moves out of range as box strikes.
box throws a hook but Evans blocks it.
Evans lands a head kick. box smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

Evans darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Evans stops box from getting back to his feet.
Evans is trying to control. box wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
box is trying to stand back up but Evans is controlling him
Evans scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Evans is looking to take a break and control but box is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
box is trying to stand.
Ground and pound from Evans.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
box misses with a two punch combination.

Evans scores with a takedown into box's guard.
box is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Evans dives into side control.
Evans prevents box from escaping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
box tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Evans landing shots from mount.
Evans breaks from box's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Rashad Evans overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Evans landing strikes, looking to finish!
Evans looking to control and managing it successfully.
Evans scoring with strikes but box is staying in there.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Evans punishing his opponent with strikes.
Evans can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as box is looking to escape.
box tries to buck Evans off but he can't manage it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rashad Evans dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rashad Evans's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

box swinging wilding here.
Evans scores with a hook.

Evans has managed to clinch.
Evans is trying to break the clinch but box has him pressed against the cage.
Evans tries to break free but box pushes him back against the cage.
Evans changes levels and goes for a takedown here. box fights it off and pushes away nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
box throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Evans.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
box throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Evans tries to close the distance and clinch but box swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

box gets caught flat footed, as Evans shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Evans postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Evans with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Evans landing some decent shots from guard.

box is working an open guard so Evans takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Evans lands a jab to the nose.
Evans is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
box throws an overhand right that lands on Evans's shoulder, as Evans tries to avoid the shot.
Evans connects with a crisp jab.
iwanna box has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
box rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Evans moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
iwanna box is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
box takes a head kick and keeps coming.
box throws the left hand but Evans avoids the punch easily.

Evans looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for box!
Evans landing strikes from the mount and box is in trouble!
Evans landing strikes from the mount.
Evans can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as box is looking to escape.
box in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
box tries to buck Evans off but he can't manage it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Evans connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Evans lands a heavy elbow.
Evans connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
BOOM! Evans connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Evans tries to control but box wriggling away.
Evans is landing with some decent strikes but box is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Evans cracks box with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Evans fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
box is trying to stand.
box in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
box flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Evans lands with some strikes.
box wants to try and get back to his feet.

That's four 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.
A nice elbow there by Evans.
Evans controlling from the full mount.
Evans lands with some strikes.
box is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Evans lands a big shot there that rocks box but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
box throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
box throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Evans postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. box looks a forlorn figure.
box swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
box throwing hammer fists to the chest of Evans. What's that going to do exactly?
Rashad Evans is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Evans lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rashad Evans showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Evans, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rashad Evans!