PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rick Flare (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yo Hwan Lim (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Flare's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Also Sprach Zarathustra. Rick Flare has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Flare
vs
Hwan Lim

173 cm
39
180 lbs
29 - 21 - 1

180 cm
32
180 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 29 - 21 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Rick Flare!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yo Hwan Lim!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Donatello Bradman and Topper Green.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Lim drops Flare with a beautiful combination! Flare stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Lim is looking for the KO!

It looks like Rick Flare has been cut.
We've been told by Flare's head coaches at LOD-Guts & Glory Gym that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
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!
Flare blocks a head kick by Lim.
Flare slips a jab from Lim.
Flare uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Lim.
Lim misses with a body shot
enabling Flare to counter with a crisp jab.
Lim throws a right and a left that Flare avoids nicely.
Lim lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Flare takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Lim misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Lim throws a right hand that misses
and Flare counters with a one-two to the body.
Lim connects with a crisp jab.

Flare shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Flare showed some decent athleticism there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Flare throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Lim to regain full guard.
Flare 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.
Flare trying to control the position from guard on top but Lim is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Flare works over Lim with some ground and pound from guard.
Flare postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Flare wants to pass the guard but Lim is keeping the position.
Flare landing with the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Flare postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Lim is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Flare, into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Flare not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Lim gets to his feet - Flare follows without any prompting.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lim misses with an uppercut

and Flare counters by moving into the clinch.
Lim throws a head punch that misses.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Lim blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Lim misses with a short punch on the inside.
A short left from Lim.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Lim.
Lim working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Lim throws a head punch that misses.
Flare misses with some punches.
Lim lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Lim's coach down at The Shield was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Lim's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Lim misses with a shot to the kidneys.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Lim creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Lim fails to land.
Flare blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Flare tries to throw a body punch but Lim avoids it by throwing Flare back against the cage.

Lim pulls guard effortlessly.
Lim keeping moving, preventing Flare from controlling successfully.
Flare throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Flare throws a big right hand that misses.
Lim looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
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!
Flare controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Flare throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lim working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Flare.
Lim controlling the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Yo Hwan Lim was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Flare blocks a head kick by Lim.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yo Hwan Lim dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rick Flare's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Danga de danga de dang - Flare scores with a four punch combination!
Lim tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Flare shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lim but Lim pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Horrible takedown attempt by Flare or perhaps it was just good defense by Lim, which made it look bad.
Lim ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Flare moves away.
Flare throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Lim throws a hook but Flare avoids it easily.
Lim looks to land a combination but Flare avoids it well.
Flare shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lim but Lim pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rick Flare. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lim misses with a low kick as Flare jumps back.
Lim misses with a body kick.
Lim throws a big shot that misses.
Flare blocks a head kick by Lim.
Lim displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Flare.
Flare blocks a head kick by Lim.
Flare avoids the head kick by Lim.
Flare shoots in looking for a takedown but Lim manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Flare's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lim lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

Flare closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Lim quickly recovers to half guard.
Lim avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Flare.
Lim avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Flare.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lim wants to get back to full guard.
Lim trying to control from the bottom.
Flare trying to pass the guard but Lim defending well.
Flare throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Lim is refusing to be controlled, as Flare sits in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Flare lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Flare tries to pass to full mount but Lim defends it.

Flare is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Lim still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Lim has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
The referee asks Lim politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Lim prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Flare is trying to get back to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Flare manages to work his way to half guard, despite Lim's best efforts.
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 Rick Flare will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rick Flare'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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Flare shoots in and drives through. Lim sprawls well.
Nice straight punches there by Lim. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Lim.
Flare shoots in but no luck this time.
Flare shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Lim as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rick Flare. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lim fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Lim throws a head kick that Flare semi-blocks.
Lim throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Yo Hwan Lim seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Lim throws a series of punches but Flare moves out of range.
Lim lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Flare uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lim.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Flare goes for a double leg but Lim avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Lim continues to drive forward.
A head punch on the inside from Lim fails to land.

Lim jumps guard.
Lim avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Lim keeping moving, preventing Flare from controlling successfully.
Lim working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Flare.
Flare throws a big right hand that misses.
Lim controls Flare momentarily but Flare frees himself.
Flare throwing strikes but missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Flare tries to free his leg and advance position but Lim is retaining full guard.
Flare is fighting to break Lim's control of his arms but Lim is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Lim avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Flare throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Flare has gone for a leg lock! Lim slips out almost immediately though and dives into Flare's guard.
Lim wants to control from the top but Flare keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Yo Hwan Lim wasn't active enough on the ground.
No luck for Flare with that takedown attempt.
Flare shoots in but no luck this time.
Lim walks into a stiff left hand from Flare.
Lim lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Flare checks the leg kick nicely there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Lim as Flare shoots in.
Yo Hwan Lim is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A head kick misses from Lim.
Lim throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Flare goes for a double leg but Lim avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Lim continues to drive forward.
Lim tries to pull guard but Flare holds him up against the cage and eventually Lim drops back down to his feet.
Flare tries for a takedown. No joy.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lim tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Flare's elbow.
A short body shot lands from Flare as the two fighters clinch.
Lim's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Lim blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lim lands a left hand that snaps the head of Flare backwards.
Lim makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Lim lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Flare as Lim tries to tie him up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yo Hwan Lim comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Lim 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 28:29
Judge Topper Green scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yo Hwan Lim!
Yo Hwan Lim seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.