PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Baxter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frankie Drake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Baxter
vs
Drake

185 cm
35
117 lbs
27 - 8 - 0

166 cm
28
160 lbs
16 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Sin City Allstars

MayheM sportswear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Ryan Baxter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Frankie Drake!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Robert Twigg and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Baxter throws a head punch that misses.
Baxter misses with an elbow strike.
Drake goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Baxter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Drake.
Baxter tries a body shot but Drake blocks it.
Drake tries to pull guard but Baxter holds him up against the cage and eventually Drake drops back down to his feet.
Baxter has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Baxter throws a punch but it's blocked by Drake.
Drake avoids a wild elbow strike from Baxter.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Drake blocks an elbow strike.
Drake avoids the elbow strike from Baxter, against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Baxter just misses with a elbow thrown towards Drake's brow.
Baxter really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Drake misses with a knee strike.
Drake misses with a hook to the ribs.
Drake misses with a punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baxter blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Baxter manages to break the clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Baxter. Drake does a little dance to reset his feet.
Baxter tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Drake counters with a shoot takedown. Baxter fights it but they end up in guard.

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

Drake takes the fight into the clinch.
Drake scores with a nice hook to the head.
Drake lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Baxter backwards.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Baxter is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Drake is defending well for now.
Drake misses with a knee strike.
Baxter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Baxter on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Baxter misses with a punch on the inside.
Drake tries to land knees in the clinch but Baxter avoids the damage to the body.
Baxter misses with a knee strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake lands a shoulder strike.
Baxter managing to block the knees to the body from Drake.
Baxter looking to throw knees to the head but Drake is blocking nicely.

Baxter escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Drake looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Baxter is fending him off so far but Drake persists. Nope, Baxter circles away and we're back to standing.
Baxter with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Baxter throws a right and a left that Drake avoids nicely.

Baxter closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Nice elbow from Baxter.
Baxter lands an elbow just above Drake 's eye.
Baxter misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Drake.
Baxter can't find room to land a body shot as Drake controls the action.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Baxter gets a clinch.
Drake on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Drake tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baxter avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drake blocking some punches.

Baxter breaks from the clinch.
Baxter throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Baxter throws a head kick that misses

and Drake counters by moving into the clinch.
Drake takes a knee right on the jaw!
Drake lands with a light punch inside.
Baxter tries to work over Drake's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Baxter swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A nice right hand lands inside from Drake.
Baxter unloads a knee to the mid-section. Drake lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Drake blocks an elbow strike.
Baxter lands a right hand that snaps the head of Drake backwards.
We've been informed that Drake has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the 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!
Baxter tries to break the clinch but Drake is controlling the position.
Baxter tries to land knees in the clinch but Drake avoids the damage to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baxter.
Baxter throws a punch but it's blocked by Drake.
Baxter on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drake throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Baxter misses with a punch on the inside.
Baxter wants to get back to striking at distance but Drake won't allow it.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Baxter.
Baxter unloads a knee to the mid-section. Drake lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Drake changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Baxter fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Ryan Baxter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Frankie Drake.
Baxter throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Drake takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Baxter tries to bum rush Drake with a series of wild strikes but Drake uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Drake with the counter takedown but Baxter avoids it easily.
A combination from Drake does no damage.
Drake throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Drake slips a jab and a cross from Baxter.
Drake tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Baxter was well out of range. Poor timing from Drake.
Danga de danga de dang - Baxter scores with a four punch combination!

Drake gets tackled into the cage by Baxter. Baxter maintains the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Baxter dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Drake doesn't manage to clinch there - Baxter circles away.
Baxter throws a right and a left that both miss.
Baxter throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Drake counters with a stiff right hand.

Baxter instigates a clinch.
Baxter with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Baxter on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Baxter wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Drake misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Baxter.
Nice body punch from Baxter - that landed with a thud.
Drake has a couple of punches blocked by Baxter.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Drake tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Baxter smiles and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Baxter throws a right and a left that both miss.
Drake throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Baxter tries to clinch up but Drake circles away and keeps his distance.
Drake misses with a low kick.
A head kick misses from Baxter.
As Baxter backs off Drake throws a huge counter combo but Baxter manages to avoid it all.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baxter throws a sloppy head kick and Drake moves out of range easily.
Ryan Baxter is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Baxter misses with the combination.

Drake has Baxter up against the cage in a clinch.
Drake lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Baxter backwards.

Baxter breaks the clinch.
Baxter throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Drake instigates a clinch.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Baxter here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Baxter lands an elbow inside that Drake shrugs off.

Drake gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Baxter looking for a sweep. Not yet Baxter, not yet.
Drake sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Drake looking to sit in guard and control but Baxter gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Baxter would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Drake tries to strike from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Drake throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Baxter is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Baxter is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Drake can do to turn this around?
Drake lands with a heel strike from the guard.
Drake wants to stand up but Baxter is controlling him.

Baxter got a little sloppy there for a moment and Drake has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Baxter has managed to get both his arms back between Drake's legs - danger averted.
Baxter wants to control from the top but Drake keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Drake throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Frankie Drake has got the better of the ground game so far.
Baxter has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Drake is proving hard to escape from.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Drake is on top in guard.

Drake drops back looking for a leg! Baxter is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Baxter manages to kick Drake off! Drake jumps back into Baxter's guard.
Drake is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Drake stopping the sweep attempt from Baxter.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Frankie Drake will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Drake throws a lazy right hand but Baxter sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Drake on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Baxter tries to clinch up.
Baxter wants to clinch up but Drake keeps it at a distance.
Baxter misses with a few strikes there.
A countering left hand to the body from Drake misses.
Drake slips a jab and a cross from Baxter.
Drake is looking for the big counter here.
Baxter misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Baxter scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Baxter tries to clinch up.
Drake wants to counter with a clinch but Baxter pushes him away.
Baxter keeps the fight on the outside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Baxter swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Drake counters with a one-two to the body.

Baxter is rocked!
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Baxter!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Baxter misses with a two punch combination.
Drake swats away the attempt to clinch by Baxter.
Drake is trying to counter with his kicks.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Drake gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A short right from Drake on the inside.
Baxter lands a right hand that snaps the head of Drake backwards.
Baxter misses with some punches.
Drake misses with a body punch.
Drake looking to stall.
Drake leaning his opponent against the cage.
Baxter tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Drake avoids it.
Baxter struggles to land a body shot inside as Drake controls his hands.
Baxter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Drake dodges an elbow strike from Baxter.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake blocks an uppercut.
A short left from Drake.
Drake blocking some punches.
With the fighters up against the cage, Baxter throws an elbow but misses.
Baxter lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Drake or not.
Ryan Baxter has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Baxter makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Baxter tries a head kick but it misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A head kick by Drake misses
and Baxter counters with a series of strikes. Drake will be more careful next time no doubt.
Drake moves forwards but Baxter connects with a nice, crisp jab.
A punch combination from Baxter misses.

Drake clinches up against the cage.
Baxter lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Drake cracks Baxter with a nice body shot.
Baxter lands a body punch.
Baxter pushes Drake back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drake blocks an elbow strike from Baxter.
Baxter has had enough of the clinch but Drake keeps him there for the moment.
Drake drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Drake throws a head punch that misses.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ryan Baxter is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Drake circles away from the clinch attempt.
Drake pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Drake tries to land a front kick but Baxter steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Baxter throws a combination that misses

and Drake counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Drake throws a strike but Baxter rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Baxter gets to his feet - Drake follows without any prompting.

Drake moves into range and clinches up with Baxter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baxter can't find room to land a body shot as Drake controls the action.
Drake swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Drake has a couple of punches blocked by Baxter.
With the fighters up against the cage, Drake throws an elbow but misses.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Baxter lands a knee to the head.
Drake wants to take the fight to the mat but Baxter manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Baxter lands a right hand.
Baxter wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Baxter with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Baxter lands an uppercut.
Baxter lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Drake backwards.
A nice right hand lands inside from Baxter.
Baxter tries to circle away but Drake has him pinned against the cage.
Baxter tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Drake's elbow.
Baxter tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ryan Baxter showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Baxter 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryan Baxter!
Ryan Baxter decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.