PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Urijah Faber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mia St John (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Faber comes to the cage accompanied by California Love. St John has chosen Ring of Fire as his entrance music. Mia St John has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Faber
vs
St John

168 cm
26
130 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

168 cm
20
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Urijah Faber!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Mia St John!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Faber throws a right and a left that St John avoids nicely.
Faber tries to score a power double leg takedown but St John sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Faber somewhat.
St John takes a head kick and keeps coming.

Faber feints and as St John raises his hands in defense, Faber changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Faber with a nice head shot there.
Faber 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.
St John looking to hit a scissor sweep but Faber is one step ahead there.

St John has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Faber off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
St John misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sloppy strikes from St John. Those never looked like landing.
St John lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Faber circles away quickly and effectively.
St John tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mia St John seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
St John shoots in for a double leg but Faber sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
St John tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Faber paws at him with a jab and circles away.
St John throws a series of punches but Faber moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some bone on bone action there as Faber checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
St John misses with a few strikes there.
St John throws a right and a left that Faber avoids nicely.
Faber moves out of range of the leg kick from St John.

Faber closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Faber not doing much here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Faber is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. St John doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Faber.
Faber is controlling the pace.
Faber working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faber working over St John with some ground and pound. St John looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Faber winds up and cracks St John with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
St John flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

Faber stands up out of the half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Faber looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
St John tries a head kick but it misses.

Faber closes the distance and clinches.
St John tries to pull guard but Faber forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
St John tries to break the clinch but Faber is controlling the position.
Faber content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Faber pulls guard successfully.
St John would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Faber looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
St John has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Faber is proving hard to escape from.
Faber wants to sweep here but St John controlling him for the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as St John accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Faber wriggles free and stands up.
Faber dodges the punch combination from St John.
St John fails to land with a series of punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
St John misses with a wild combination.
St John wants to clinch.
St John misses with a takedown attempt - Faber sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Urijah Faber has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mia St John.
St John looks gassed!
St John throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

Faber scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
St John pushes Faber away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Faber gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Faber in side control lands a decent elbow.
St John is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Faber asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Faber controlling the position from side mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Urijah Faber dominated that round.
That's time! Faber's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Faber rushes St John and presses him up against the cage.
A short right from St John.
St John tries to circle away but Faber has him pinned against the cage.
St John tries to break the clinch but Faber is controlling the position.

Faber breaks the clinch.
Some wild striking there from St John.
Urijah Faber is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Faber drives through with a takedown into guard.
Faber's corner is telling him to maintain position.

St John working for a triangle but Faber defends it easily.
St John is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Faber is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Faber passes into half guard under a barage of strikes.

St John actively working from the bottom here.
St John is breathing heavily.
St John is trying to stand back up but Faber is controlling him
St John has hold of Faber's hands but Faber slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Faber works his foot free and advances to mount.
Faber in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Faber content just to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faber has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Faber working for a submission but St John is keeping him at bay.
Faber controlling from mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
St John in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber unloading with bombs!
St John is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Faber controlling from mount.
St John is trying to reverse the position but instead Faber has taken his back - oops!
Faber is trying to stick to St John's back but St John is turning into Faber. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Faber's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by St John.
Faber is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Faber controls St John momentarily but St John frees himself.
St John lands a couple of decent looking shots.
St John wants to stand but Faber is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Faber lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for St John!
Faber moves to back control.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
St John trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
St John is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Faber is staying active.
Faber is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

St John is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Faber gets his way!
St John wants to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Urijah Faber dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

St John looks to land a combination but Faber avoids it well.
St John fails in his attempt to clinch.

Faber has closed the distance and engaged St John in a clinch.
Faber prevents St John from breaking the clinch.

Faber breaks from the clinch.
St John is looking to clinch.
Faber fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
St John looks to land a combination but Faber avoids it well.

Faber rushes St John and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Faber ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Faber no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Urijah Faber overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Faber has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes St John off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Faber closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. St John quickly recovers to half guard.
Faber slows the pace down in half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Faber looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St John pushes Faber off looking to stand but Faber dives back in and keeps control.
Faber frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Faber can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as St John is looking to escape.
St John has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St John is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

Faber is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. St John knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften St John for a finish.
St John has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.

Faber has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, St John has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Faber controlling the position well here. St John rolled but Faber kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
St John staying busy and making it hard for Faber to control.
Mia St John has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Faber tightening his grip on St John, looking for the choke.
St John holding both Faber 's hands and preventing any damage.

St John defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Faber's arms.
St John tries to break free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

St John is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
You can see the frustration on St John's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Faber wants to control but St John is keeping busy.
St John is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Faber has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of St John's body.
St John is trying to get back to his feet but Faber has full control of the position and if anything, St John has just worked his way into a worse spot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Urijah Faber showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Faber, 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Urijah Faber!
Urijah Faber got down on his knees post fight and begged the management for a title shot. 'Please, I want that title shot so bad! Give it to me!'