PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Eli Samuel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mitch Drake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Samuel comes to the cage accompanied by Bring The Goons Out. Mitch Drake will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Samuel
vs
Drake

155 cm
20
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

176 cm
19
159 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Inexperienced

Red Light Clothing
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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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Eli Samuel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Mitch Drake!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Richard Clark and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Samuel will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Nice body kick there by Drake.
Drake wants to clinch.

Samuel shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Samuel showed some decent athleticism there.
Drake avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Samuel.
Samuel uses his free foot to push down on Drake's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Drake.

Drake defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Samuel.
Drake taking shots to the head.
Drake really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Drake is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake is trying desperately to improve position.
Drake is a very stocky fighter. Infact he's such a weird shape that he's almost like some sort of comedy character - it's hard to believe he's real.
Samuel lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Samuel landing shots from mount.
Samuel 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.
Samuel wants to control the pace but Drake is squirming around nicely.
Samuel putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Drake is squirming around, avoiding Samuel's attempts to control the action.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Drake tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Drake takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Samuel scores with a couple of good head shots there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake trying desperately to get to his feet.
Drake keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Samuel with the ground and pound from mount.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
BOOM! Samuel connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Samuel scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Samuel unloading with bombs!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Samuel with a couple of short strikes.
Samuel with the ground and pound from mount.
Samuel is breathing heavily.
Samuel scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Drake?
Drake is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Samuel lands a big shot there that rocks Drake but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Drake trying desperately to get to his feet.
Samuel lands with some strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samuel prevents Drake from getting the reversal.
Samuel is in the full mount, landing strikes.
A nice elbow there by Samuel.
Samuel lands a nice shot to the head.
Drake in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Drake is trying to stand.
Samuel breaks from Drake's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Drake tries to buck Samuel off but he can't manage it.
Samuel pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Samuel lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Drake hang on?
Drake tries to reverse the position but Samuel maintains control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Samuel lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Samuel working away from the top, dropping strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Samuel is landing with some decent strikes but Drake is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Drake is working to get back to half guard.
Drake tries to hold on but Samuel postures up.
Samuel dominating with strikes here.
Samuel pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Samuel landing shots from mount.
Samuel won't let Drake get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Samuel lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Drake tries to lock up and control but Samuel gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Drake is in a horrible position here. Samuel smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Samuel landing strikes from the mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Samuel has a takedown stuffed.
Samuel avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A solid leg kick lands there for Drake.
Samuel shoots in looking for a takedown. Drake tries to sprawl out of it but Samuel keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Drake manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Samuel looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Drake is fending him off so far but Samuel persists. Nope, Drake circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Eli Samuel. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Drake pushes Samuel up against the cage in a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Drake misses with a body punch.

Drake breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Drake lands a head kick!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Drake tries to clinch but Samuel moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Drake gets a clinch.
Drake lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

Drake manages to break the clinch.
Drake throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Samuel.
Samuel tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Drake swivels and escapes.
Samuel shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Drake wants to clinch.
Nice takedown defense from Drake. No joy for Samuel on that attempt.

Drake drives through and clinches with Samuel against the cage.

Drake escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Samuel takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Samuel tries for a takedown but Drake sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Drake closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Drake wants to stand up but Samuel has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Samuel is trying to get back to full guard.
Samuel is in trouble now - Drake has advanced to mount!

Drake is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Samuel is surviving well by controlling Drake's body position as best he can.

Drake swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Samuel is now in Drake's guard. A big mistake from Drake there, giving up the dominant position!
Samuel throwing strikes from guard but Drake blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samuel throws a big right hand that misses.
Samuel throwing strikes from guard but Drake blocks nicely.
Samuel connects with a couple of short punches.
Drake wants to sweep here but Samuel controlling him for the moment.
Samuel is looking to work some ground and pound but Drake has wrist control.
Drake wants to stand up but Samuel is controlling him.
Samuel postures up in Drake's guard and throws a big left but Drake blocks it.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Samuel shoots in for a takedown but Drake shows good takedown defense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Drake closes the distance and pushes Samuel back into the cage.

Drake breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Drake wants to clinch.
Drake scores with a sloppy right hand. Samuel should have avoided that one.
Samuel shoots in and drives through. Drake sprawls well.
Drake tries to clinch but Samuel moves out of range.
Drake throws a head kick that misses.
Samuel misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Drake fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Samuel 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mitch Drake showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Drake. Samuel shrugs it off though.
Drake tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Samuel bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Samuel lands a decent elbow from side control.
Drake taking a bit of punishment here - Samuel scoring with strikes.

Samuel tries for a kimura but Drake is defending well.
Drake managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Samuel.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Drake tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Samuel wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Samuel landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Samuel scores with a couple of short elbows.
Drake dodges the ground and pound from Samuel.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake is looking to reverse the position.
Drake gets back to half guard.
Drake works his way to full guard. Good work.
Samuel postures up in Drake's guard and throws a big left but Drake blocks it.
Samuel throwing strikes but missing.
Samuel won't allow Drake to sweep him here.
Samuel loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Drake pushes Samuel off and scrambles back to his feet.

Samuel closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Drake to the mat! Drake manages to get full guard.
Samuel working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Samuel throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Samuel working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Samuel throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Drake works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Samuel missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Drake throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Drake is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Samuel is controlling him.

Samuel stands up from Drake's guard - Samuel perhaps looking for a knockout.

Samuel bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Drake tries to bench press Samuel off him but Samuel keeps the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samuel working away.
Samuel working the head with strikes.
Drake takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Samuel is working Drake over with some ground and pound from side control.
Drake is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Samuel trying to control the action but Drake is working from the bottom.
Samuel working the ground and pound.
Drake is trying to get back to his feet.
Samuel lands some shots froms side control.
Drake taking a bit of punishment here - Samuel scoring with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Drake tries to get back to half guard but can't.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Samuel decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Samuel takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Drake blocking the ground and pound attempt from Samuel.
Samuel throwing shots but Drake is blocking nicely.
Drake trying to control from the bottom.
Samuel not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Samuel trying to mount his opponent but Drake defends it.
Drake moves into full guard.
Samuel works over Drake with some ground and pound from guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eli Samuel showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Samuel 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 29:28
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eli Samuel!