PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Burley Haines (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keiran Corkhill (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Keiran Corkhill acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Haines
vs
Corkhill

177 cm
27
152 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

170 cm
24
135 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Very quick

Good takedowns
Brawler
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Burley Haines!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Keiran Corkhill!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, John Kavanagh and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Haines shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Haines was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Haines is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Corkhill knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Haines tries to advance position but instead Corkhill slips a leg back in to half guard.
Haines lands with a punch from half guard.
Corkhill slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Haines trying to control the position from guard on top but Corkhill is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haines looking to pass the guard.

Corkhill looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Corkhill had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Haines defends it easily.

Corkhill working for a triangle but Haines defends it easily.
Haines advances position into side control!
Corkhill stops Haines from passing to mount.
Haines advances to full mount.
Corkhill really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Corkhill keeps trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haines lands a big elbow.
Corkhill sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Corkhill is pressing down on Haines's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Haines is working Corkhill over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Corkhill is looking for a triangle but Haines pushes his legs off easily.

Corkhill looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Haines wants to control from the top but Corkhill keeps moving.
Haines pushes down on Corkhill's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Haines is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haines trying to pass the guard but Corkhill defending well.
Corkhill is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Haines is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Corkhill is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Haines pulls his head out easily.
Corkhill makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Corkhill.
Haines advances to half guard.
Haines moves nicely into side control.
Corkhill manages to work his way to half guard, despite Haines's best efforts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Corkhill moves into full guard.
Haines tries to free his leg and advance position but Corkhill is retaining full guard.
Corkhill is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Corkhill told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
Haines is pushing down on Corkhill's leg trying to pass to half guard. Corkhill is fighting to maintain full guard but Haines has managed to sneak the leg through.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Haines missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Corkhill tries to get to full guard but Haines has control of the leg.
Corkhill moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Haines sitting in guard, not really doing much.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Haines wants to control from the top but Corkhill keeps moving.
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 Burley Haines 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.

Haines gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Haines lands an elbow just above Corkhill 's eye.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Haines manages to break the clinch.
Good leg kick by Haines there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Corkhill shoots and misses

and Haines counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Haines is looking for a kimura but Corkhill is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Haines to get the leverage.
We've been hearing good reports from Haines's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

Corkhill looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Haines wants to pass to mount but Corkhill is defending the position.
Haines stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Corkhill is staying active underneath Haines, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Ground and pound from Haines.

Haines is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Corkhill has managed to free his arm - good work.
Corkhill wants to control but Haines is keeping busy.
Haines tries to pass to full mount but Corkhill defends it.
Haines is looking to take a break and control but Corkhill is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haines tries to pass to full mount but Corkhill defends it.

Corkhill looking for submissions off his back.
Haines is looking to advance position but Corkhill won't allow it.
Haines looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Corkhill with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Burley Haines overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Corkhill is concentrating on defense, preventing Haines from advancing position.
Corkhill is pressing down on Haines's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Corkhill has his foot on Haines's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Haines works his way back into a safe position though.
Haines works over Corkhill with some ground and pound from guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Corkhill has an active guard here but Haines has managed to pass into half guard.
Haines takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haines prevents Corkhill from improving his position.
Haines is just content to waste time from the top position. Corkhill takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Haines is looking to work some ground and pound but Corkhill has wrist control.
Corkhill preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Corkhill has his foot on Haines's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Haines works his way back into a safe position though.
Haines pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Corkhill is keeping the position for now.
Haines is in close to Corkhill's body, working some short punches and elbows.

Corkhill had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Haines defends it easily.

Corkhill looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haines is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Haines looking to pass the guard.

Corkhill looking for a guillotine here but Haines defends easily.
Haines forces his way into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Haines takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Haines tries to pass the half guard into mount. Corkhill knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Haines looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Corkhill with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

Corkhill actively working from the bottom here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Burley Haines dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Corkhill with a lazy takedown attempt

and Haines holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Corkhill is fighting off a takedown attempt but Haines is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Corkhill to the mat. Corkhill regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.

Corkhill looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Haines looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Haines working some strikes from top position.
Haines works a leg free and moves into half guard.

Corkhill looking for submissions off his back.
Corkhill wants to improve his position but Haines is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Corkhill looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Corkhill is in trouble now - Haines has advanced to mount!
Corkhill is in all sorts of trouble here.

Haines goes for an armbar but Corkhill turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Corkhill.
Corkhill trying to control the position from guard on top but Haines is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Haines 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.

Corkhill postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Haines is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Corkhill, into his guard.
Burley Haines is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haines postures up and lands a big shot to Corkhill's brow.

Corkhill working for a triangle but Haines defends it easily.

Corkhill throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Haines escapes and throws Corkhill's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Haines happy to just control the position for now.
Haines trying to control the position but Corkhill is working away.
Corkhill regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Corkhill is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Haines pulls his head out easily.
Keiran Corkhill has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Haines is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Corkhill doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Haines.
Haines content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Corkhill is not content to let Haines control the position.

Corkhill is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Haines pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haines content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Haines prevents Corkhill from improving his position.
Haines slips a nice elbow through Corkhill's hands, connecting with Corkhill's forehead.

Corkhill is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Haines pulls his head out easily.
Haines looks to land a strike but Corkhill avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Haines passes into half guard.
Haines trying to advance position but Corkhill counters by regaining guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Burley Haines showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Haines has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Burley Haines!
Burley Haines spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.