PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Urijah Faber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Te Rauparaha (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Faber
vs
Rauparaha

168 cm
20
138 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

168 cm
20
143 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Tab Out Clothes
Sex Panther Supplements

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Urijah Faber!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Te Rauparaha!
The judges for this bout are John Mangel, Eliza Hachem and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rauparaha throws a head kick but Faber moves out of range.
Urijah Faber seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rauparaha keeps the fight on the outside.
Rauparaha throws a head kick but Faber moves out of range.
Rauparaha fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Faber looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Rauparaha lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Rauparaha misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Faber throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Rauparaha tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Faber is in Rauparaha's guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Faber tries to free his leg and advance position but Rauparaha is retaining full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Faber stopping the sweep attempt from Rauparaha.
Faber in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber is stalling in the full guard.
Faber trying to control but Rauparaha is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Urijah Faber wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Faber shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Rauparaha defends it nicely.
Rauparaha throws a head kick that misses.
Rauparaha feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Faber's calf.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rauparaha thumps Faber with a low kick.
Rauparaha looks to score with a jab to the body but Faber is just out of range.
Rauparaha stuffs the takedown attempt from Faber. Faber gets slowly back to his feet.
Faber tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rauparaha paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Te Rauparaha is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Faber throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Faber throws a leg kick
and Rauparaha counters with an inside leg kick.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Faber.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Urijah Faber. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Faber closes the distance and clinches up with Rauparaha, looking for a takedown. Faber pushes Rauparaha against the cage but Rauparaha circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rauparaha stuns Faber with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Faber's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Rauparaha connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Faber scrambles back to his feet.
Rauparaha ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber throws a low kick but Rauparaha avoids it.
Faber takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rauparaha lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rauparaha lands a right hook to the body.
Rauparaha is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Faber rather than just go for the knockout.
A head kick misses from Faber.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Rauparaha, as that shot connected.
Rauparaha throws a leg kick but Faber checks it.
Faber tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Rauparaha manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rauparaha throws a nice inside leg kick.
Rauparaha moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Rauparaha tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rauparaha goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber misses with an uppercut
and Rauparaha counters with a slapping leg kick.
Rauparaha connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Faber chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Rauparaha can pounce on him.
Rauparaha thows a body shot but no joy.
A chopping leg kick lands by Rauparaha.
Faber blocks a head kick by Rauparaha.
Rauparaha pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The fight stays on the outside here - Faber looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Faber tries to clinch there but Rauparaha circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Faber throws a series of punches but Rauparaha avoids them all with ease.

Faber scores with a takedown into Rauparaha's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Te Rauparaha dominated that round.
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.

Nice body kick there by Rauparaha.

Faber 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.
Faber controlling from the top position.
Rauparaha is looking to sweep but instead, Faber has passed into half guard.
Rauparaha wants to improve his position but Faber is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Faber tries to control but Rauparaha wriggling away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Faber throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Rauparaha because Faber loaded up on that one.
Rauparaha really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Faber. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Faber putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Faber controlling his opponent.
Faber breaks from Rauparaha's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Faber looking to control and managing it successfully.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rauparaha bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rauparaha wants to stand but Faber is controlling his posture from full guard.

Faber manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Faber throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Rauparaha tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Faber is in Rauparaha's guard.
Faber passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Faber is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Rauparaha knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber wants to control but Rauparaha is keeping him busy.
You can see the frustration on Rauparaha's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Faber is chipping away with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Urijah Faber dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Faber shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Faber looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Rauparaha is refusing to be controlled, as Faber sits in half guard.
Rauparaha won't allow Faber to pass to mount.
Rauparaha tries to roll over but Faber keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber is trying to control. Rauparaha wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Urijah Faber just wasn't active enough.
Rauparaha throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Faber tries for a takedown but Rauparaha sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Nice straight punches there by Rauparaha. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Rauparaha.
Faber stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Rauparaha.
Faber blocks a low kick nicely.
Faber tries to clinch there but Rauparaha circles away.
Faber fails in his attempt to clinch.
Faber misses with a double jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Faber shoots in for a takedown but Rauparaha shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Rauparaha thuds his shin into the meat of Faber's side.
Faber moves in looking to clinch but Rauparaha pushes him off.
Faber swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rauparaha. Faber does a little dance to reset his feet.
Faber tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Faber takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Faber is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Faber moves out of range as Rauparaha throws a body kick.
Rauparaha thows a body shot but no joy.
Faber shoots in for a takedown but Rauparaha shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Urijah Faber. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Faber shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rauparaha but Rauparaha pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Faber tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rauparaha was well out of range. Poor timing from Faber.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Faber blocks the body kick.
Rauparaha stuffs the takedown attempt from Faber. Faber gets slowly back to his feet.
Rauparaha displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Faber.
Faber moves to clinch but Rauparaha breaks away
and Rauparaha counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Rauparaha avoids the head kick by Faber.

Faber scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Faber working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Faber stalls from top position.
Rauparaha prevents Faber from improving position.
Faber trying to control the position but Rauparaha is working away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Urijah Faber showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Faber has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 John Mangel scores the fight 29:28
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 29:28
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Urijah Faber!
Urijah Faber decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.