PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Raban (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chase Headley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Raban
vs
Headley

200 cm
24
270 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

160 cm
21
222 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Good kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, James Raban!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Chase Headley!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Valeri Chadov and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Headley gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Raban to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Headley is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Raban is controlling him.
Raban sitting in guard here, content to control.
Raban with a flurry of punches that miss.
Raban slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of James Raban.
Raban plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Headley fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Raban manages to avoid it.
Headley fails with an attempt to clinch.
Raban circles away from the clinch attempt.
Raban lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Headley is looking to clinch but Raban is avoiding it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Headley. Raban does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Headley wants to clinch up but Raban keeps it at a distance.
Raban scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Headley misses with a hook. Raban ducked under it nicely.
Some wild striking there from Headley.
Headley swinging wildly here.
Raban darts in looking for a takedown but Headley gets double underhooks and turns Raban into the cage.
Raban is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Headley tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Headley works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Headley misses with a body punch.
Raban blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Raban is trying to drag Headley to the mat but Headley just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Raban. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Headley scores with a shoulder strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Headley lands with a short shot to the head.
I was talking to Raban's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Raban is trying to break free.
Headley goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Headley is working Raban over against the cage.

Raban escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Headley tries to close the distance and clinch up but Raban swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Raban swats away the attempt to clinch by Headley.
Headley misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Headley throws a nice looking combination but Raban bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Headley moves out of range as Raban throws a body kick.
Headley misses with a straight right.

Headley gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Raban to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Raban will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Headley wants to stand up but Raban is controlling him.
Headley is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Raban dives into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Headley pushes Raban away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Raban gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Chase Headley will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Headley misses with a series of wild punches.
Raban connects with the punch.
Headley throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Headley tries to bum rush Raban with a series of wild strikes but Raban uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Headley misses with the combination.
Headley moves in looking to clinch but Raban pushes him off.
Raban scores with a spinning back kick!
Chase Headley seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Headley misses with a double jab

and Raban counters with a shoot takedown. Headley fights it but they end up in guard.
Raban throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Headley is looking to stand up but Raban isn't so interested in that idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raban is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Headley takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Headley takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Headley wants to clinch.
Chase Headley is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Headley throws a poor cross that misses
and Raban counters with a good low kick that Headley was not able to check.
Headley is breathing heavily.

Raban fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Headley to the ground. Raban is now in Headley's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Headley can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Raban controls the pace.
Headley wants to stand up but Raban is controlling him.
Raban is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Raban's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Headley is looking to stand up but Raban isn't so interested in that idea.
Raban content to stall in guard here.
Raban distracts Headley with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Raban not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raban scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Raban stands and throws Headley's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Raban sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Headley is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Raban taking a breather here.
Headley really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Raban. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Raban dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Raban fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Headley avoids it really well and circles away.
Raban throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Headley.
Raban throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Raban cracks Headley with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Headley thows a body shot but no joy.
Some wild striking there from Headley.
Raban pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Headley misses with a two punch combination.
Headley is looking to clinch.
Raban scores with a spinning back kick!

Raban shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Headley's guard.
Raban throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raban content to stall in guard here.
James Raban overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Headley wants to stand up but Raban is controlling him.
Headley wants to get back to his feet but Raban passes into half guard.
Raban is taking a breather. Headley 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raban'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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of James Raban.
Raban lands a jab.
Headley doesn't manage to clinch there - Raban circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Headley misses with a wild combination.
Headley misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Raban.
Headley fails with an attempt to clinch.
James Raban is winning the standup battle so far.

Raban manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Headley on his heels. He'll look to pass Headley's guard now, I'm sure.
Raban is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Headley wants to stand but Raban is controlling the position.
Raban is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Raban missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raban not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The ref stands the fighters back up because James Raban just wasn't active enough.
Headley misses with a straight left.
Nice body kick there by Raban.
Headley tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Raban throws a front kick that sends Headley stumbling back into the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Headley tries to close the distance and clinch but Raban swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
No joy there for Headley, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Headley takes a swing at Raban's ribcage but misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Raban showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Raban 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:28
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Raban!
James Raban bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.