PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between TJ Crawford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dante Kanakri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Crawford comes to the cage accompanied by Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO. TJ Crawford is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Crawford
vs
Kanakri

179 cm
21
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

176 cm
18
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, TJ Crawford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Dante Kanakri!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A punch combination from Kanakri misses.
Crawford looks to clinch
and Kanakri counters with a one-two to the body.
Kanakri swinging wildly here.
The fight stays on the outside here - Crawford looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Kanakri misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kanakri swats away the attempt to clinch by Crawford.
Kanakri circles away from the clinch attempt
and Kanakri counters with a right hand to the body.
Crawford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Crawford tries to clinch up but Kanakri circles away and keeps his distance.
Crawford tries to clinch up but Kanakri circles away and keeps his distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kanakri misses with a double jab
and Crawford counters with a nice leg kick.

Crawford clinches up against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Crawford just misses with a elbow thrown towards Kanakri's brow.

Crawford breaks the clinch.
Kanakri swats away the attempt to clinch by Crawford.
Kanakri misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kanakri. Crawford does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kanakri will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kanakri misses with a series of wild punches.
Dante Kanakri seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crawford thows a body kick. Kanakri tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Crawford dodges the punch combination from Kanakri.
Kanakri misses with a lunging right hand
and Kanakri takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Crawford showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kanakri.

Crawford has taken the fight to the clinch.

Crawford's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Crawford moves in looking to clinch but Kanakri pushes him off.
Crawford tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Kanakri manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kanakri throws a series of punches but Crawford avoids them all with ease.
Kanakri avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kanakri misses with a straight right.

Crawford clinches.
Crawford jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kanakri walks away with a smile on his face. Crawford gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Kanakri goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Crawford fails with an attempt to clinch.
Kanakri misses with a double jab
and Crawford makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Kanakri looks gassed!
Kanakri looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Kanakri closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Crawford fails with an attempt to clinch.

Crawford takes the fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Come on Crawford - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Crawford jumps guard but Kanakri stands there with Crawford around his waist. Crawford gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Kanakri stops a takedown attempt from Crawford.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for TJ Crawford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Crawford tries to score a body lock takedown but Kanakri shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Kanakri wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Crawford breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Crawford is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Crawford lands a head kick. Kanakri smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that TJ Crawford will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Crawford closes the distance and clinches.
Crawford keeps control of Kanakri as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Crawford pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Dante Kanakri seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A shot to the body from Kanakri misses
and Crawford counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Kanakri misses with a double jab
and Crawford counters with a good low kick that Kanakri was not able to check.
Kanakri misses with a body kick.
Sloppy strikes from Kanakri. Those never looked like landing.
Kanakri lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Crawford scores with a head kick. Kanakri tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Crawford checks the leg kick.
Kanakri throws a low kick, looking for Crawford's leg but Crawford calmly moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kanakri gets tackled into the cage by Crawford. Crawford maintains the clinch.
Crawford tries for a takedown. No joy.

Kanakri breaks the clinch.
Kanakri looks to land a combination. Crawford sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Crawford breaks the clinch.
Crawford throws a head kick that misses.
Crawford tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Kanakri manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
TJ Crawford is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Crawford slips a jab and a cross from Kanakri.
Kanakri is breathing heavily.
Kanakri swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kanakri throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Crawford holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Crawford stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Crawford tries to circle away but Kanakri has him pinned against the cage.

Crawford pulls guard successfully.
Crawford working a defensive guard here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Crawford looking for a sweep. Not yet Crawford, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kanakri thows a big elbow that misses.
Kanakri trying to control the position from guard on top but Crawford is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kanakri preventing the sweep.
Crawford trying to keep a closed guard but Kanakri is proving a slippery customer.
Kanakri really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Crawford. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Crawford throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Kanakri has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Crawford is proving hard to escape from.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kanakri preventing the sweep.
Kanakri tries to free his leg and advance position but Crawford is retaining full guard.
Crawford wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Crawford throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kanakri.
Kanakri scores with a one two! Crawford had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Kanakri!
Kanakri thuds his right hand into Crawford's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Crawford showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kanakri.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that TJ Crawford will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Crawford moves into the clinch.
Crawford tries for a takedown. No joy.
Crawford putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Kanakri in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Kanakri is trying to break the clinch but Crawford has him pressed against the cage.

Crawford manages to break the clinch.

Kanakri tries to keep at a distance but Crawford has taken the fight into the clinch.

Crawford breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Crawford tries to clinch but Kanakri is having none of it.
Kanakri throws a combination that misses

and Crawford counters by moving into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawford jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kanakri walks away with a smile on his face. Crawford gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kanakri tries a head kick but it misses.
Crawford showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kanakri.
Kanakri misses with a kick to the body
and Crawford counters with an inside leg kick.
Crawford fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kanakri has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Kanakri tries to bum rush Crawford with a series of wild strikes but Crawford uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Crawford connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Kanakri swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Crawford counters with a nice kick to the body.
Kanakri's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Crawford connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Kanakri scrambles back to his feet.
Crawford wants to clinch.
A low kick from Kanakri is predictable there

and Crawford counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Crawford.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Crawford breaks from the clinch.

Crawford pushes Kanakri up against the cage in a clinch.
Crawford tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Kanakri smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for TJ Crawford. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kanakri throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kanakri swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Crawford counters with a body kick.
Crawford tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Kanakri manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kanakri tries to bum rush Crawford with a series of wild strikes but Crawford uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Crawford fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crawford is looking to clinch but Kanakri is avoiding it.
Kanakri throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Crawford instigates a clinch.
Kanakri takes an elbow to the temple.
Kanakri looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Crawford has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kanakri is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Knees in the clinch landing for Crawford.
A bit of stalling here from Crawford.
Kanakri working hard to break the clinch.
Crawford leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kanakri breaks from the clinch.
Kanakri tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Crawford tries to clinch up.
Kanakri circles away from the clinch attempt.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Crawford jumps guard but Kanakri stands there with Crawford around his waist. Crawford gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Dante Kanakri has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
TJ Crawford is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kanakri is looking to break free of the clinch but Crawford has double underhooks.

And that's the end of the fight!
TJ Crawford showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Crawford, 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... TJ Crawford!