PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Rawls (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Noel Finnigan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Noel Finnigan will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Rawls
vs
Finnigan

178 cm
23
208 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

184 cm
24
230 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Pro-Valiance Nutrition **SALE**
Pro-Valiance Nutrition **SALE**

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Rawls!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Noel Finnigan!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Chris Downing and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Finnigan drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Finnigan lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rawls circles away quickly and effectively.

Rawls closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Rawls stops Finnigan from getting back to his feet.

Rawls is working for a submission of some sort.
Rawls is taking a breather. Finnigan says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rawls has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rawls's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Rawls is looking to advance position but Finnigan won't allow it.
Rawls stalling.
Rawls trying to mount his opponent but Finnigan defends it.
Rawls content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

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.

The referee stands the fighters back up. John Rawls just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Finnigan misses with the combination.
Rawls fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Finnigan swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Finnigan lands with a right hand.

It looks like John Rawls has been cut.
Finnigan will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rawls bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Finnigan lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Finnigan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Finnigan throws a body punch but Rawls moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Finnigan. Rawls does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Finnigan missing with a left hand there. Rawls was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Finnigan swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Finnigan just misses with a punch to the body.
Finnigan throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Finnigan misses the shot to the body.
Finnigan throws a body punch but Rawls moves out of range.
Finnigan misses with a wild body shot.
Finnigan misses with a body shot.
Noel Finnigan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice defenses there by Rawls.
Finnigan throws a series of punches but Rawls avoids them all with ease.

Rawls looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Finnigan is looking to escape.
Rawls content to control rather than advance.

Finnigan pushes Rawls off and gets back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rawls shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Finnigan defends it nicely.
Finnigan throws a hook but Rawls avoids it easily.
Finnigan misses with a wild body shot.
Rawls looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Finnigan is fending him off so far but Rawls persists. Nope, Finnigan circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Rawls. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rawls is trying hard to land a takedown here. Finnigan sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Rawls closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Finnigan did well to prevent Rawls getting side control.
Finnigan wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rawls tries to pass the half guard into mount. Finnigan knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Noel Finnigan will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on John Rawls's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Finnigan misses the shot to the body.
Nice defenses there by Rawls.
Rawls lands with a nice combination. Finnigan backs away looking to recover.
A big right from Finnigan misses.
Finnigan throws a hook but Rawls avoids it easily.

Finnigan drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Finnigan tries to stand but Rawls is controlling his head.
Rawls sneaks back into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finnigan is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rawls is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Good standup being displayed there by Finnigan as he connects with a hook.
Finnigan lands with a good body shot.
Finnigan throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Finnigan misses with a double jab

and Rawls counters with a shoot takedown. Finnigan fights it but they end up in guard.
Rawls won't allow Finnigan to get back to his feet.
Rawls is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Finnigan is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rawls is controlling him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Noel Finnigan will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on John Rawls's cut.
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!

Finnigan tries to bum rush Rawls with a series of wild strikes but Rawls uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
John Rawls is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Finnigan misses with a jab to the body

and Rawls counters by moving into the clinch.
Rawls is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Finnigan pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Rawls gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Rawls looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Finnigan wants to get back to his feet.
Rawls controlling the pace.
Rawls wants to pass the guard but Finnigan is defending well.
Rawls slows the pace down in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finnigan wants to get back to his feet.
Rawls keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Rawls is looking to advance position but Finnigan won't allow it.
Finnigan tries to kick Rawls off but Rawls keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

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.
Rawls is looking to take a break and control but Finnigan is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Rawls tries to pass the half guard into mount. Finnigan knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Rawls stands up from half guard.
Finnigan swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Rawls counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
John Rawls overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rawls is taking a breather. Finnigan says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

The referee stands the fighters back up. John Rawls just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
A big right from Finnigan misses.
Finnigan scores with a three punch combo!
Noel Finnigan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Finnigan throws a nice looking combination but Rawls bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Nice uppercut lands for Finnigan. That snapped Rawls's head back.
Finnigan fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rawls fails with the takedown.
Finnigan falls off balance throwing a combination

and Rawls moves into the clinch.
Finnigan prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Rawls. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Finnigan working hard to break the clinch.
Rawls changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Finnigan fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Rawls takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Finnigan misses with a combination

and Rawls counters with a nice double leg into side control. Finnigan won't be happy with that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rawls tries to move into full mount but can't pass Finnigan's legs.
Finnigan pushes Rawls away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Rawls gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Rawls trying to control the position but Finnigan is working away.
John Rawls has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Finnigan is being controlled here.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Rawls showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Finnigan 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Noel Finnigan!