PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Hughes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lee Sin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lee Sin has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Rafael Hughes's chin.

Hughes
vs
Sin

211 cm
21
215 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

225 cm
25
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rafael Hughes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Lee Sin!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sin forces Hughes back against the cage and clinches.
A head punch on the inside from Sin fails to land.
Sin wants to break the clinch but can't.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Hughes keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Sin's efforts to push away.
Come on Sin - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Sin pulls guard successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hughes accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sin is looking to stand up but Hughes isn't so interested in that idea.
Hughes is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hughes stops Sin from standing up.
Hughes landing some decent shots from guard.
Hughes controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Hughes throwing strikes but missing.
Hughes throwing strikes but missing.
Sin wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Hughes manages to pass to side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sin tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.

Sin is defending against the submission attempts here by Hughes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Hughes working Sin over with strikes.
Hughes wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sin keeps working.
Sin taking some punishment here, with Hughes in his half guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Sin can do anything to dispel that myth.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Hughes connects with a nice short shot to Sin's temple.
Hughes is taking a breather. Sin 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.
Hughes prevents Sin from standing back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hughes lands a nice short elbow.
Sin tries to get to full guard but Hughes has control of the leg.
Sin tries to kick Hughes off but Hughes keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hughes wants to work for an arm triangle but Sin is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Sin keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Hughes connects with a nice short shot to Sin's temple.
Sin tries to kick Hughes off but Hughes keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Hughes scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Hughes is controlling the pace.
Sin tries to roll over but Hughes keeps him under control.
Sin is trying to stand back up but Hughes is controlling him

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Hughes in particular looking to stall.
Hughes working Sin over with strikes.
Sin is staying active underneath Hughes, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Hughes lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Hughes is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Sin sees it coming and defends easily.
Hughes lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Sin looks like he's trying to stand up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Hughes dominated that round.
That's time! Hughes's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Hughes tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Sin counters with a one-two to the body.
Sin scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

Sin moves into the clinch.
Sin throws a head punch that misses.

Hughes pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Sin gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Sin is trying to break free.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Still in the clinch, Sin scores with a nice short uppercut.

Hughes manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Hughes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hughes seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sin is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hughes not doing much here.

Hughes is trying to work for a kimura but Sin is defending well.
Hughes wants to take a breather but Sin is having none of it.
Sin wants to get back to his feet.
Hughes looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Hughes is nestled in close to Sin, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Ground and pound from Hughes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hughes lands a nice short elbow.
Hughes looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sin with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Sin is trying to stand.
Hughes lands with a punch from half guard.
Sin is trying to stand.
Hughes landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Hughes thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hughes really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Hughes seems to be looking for submissions.
Sin taking some punishment here, with Hughes in his half guard.
Hughes 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sin throws a strike from the bottom but Hughes passes into side control!
Hughes scores with a couple of short elbows.
Hughes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sin can do to turn this around?
Hughes wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sin keeps working.
Hughes in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Hughes working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

Hughes tries for a kimura but Sin is defending well.
Rafael Hughes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hughes working the ground and pound.
Sin is trying to escape the position but Hughes is controlling the position.
Hughes lands some shots froms side control.

Hughes looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sin wants to control but Hughes postures up.
Sin is trying to buck Hughes off.
Hughes taking a break here but Sin is having none of it and regains half guard.

Hughes is working for a submission of some sort.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sin tries to push off, looking to stand up, but Hughes manages to move to mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Hughes 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!

Hughes tries to keep at a distance but Sin has taken the fight into the clinch.
Sin throws a head punch that misses.
Sin lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Sin has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Sin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hughes breaks from the clinch.

Hughes tries to keep at a distance but Sin has taken the fight into the clinch.
Sin misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sin successfully pulls guard.
Hughes cracks Sin with a solid left hand.
Sin is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Hughes is controlling him.
Hughes slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Sin is wriggling around but Hughes manages to pass to half guard.
Hughes perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sin is refusing to be controlled, as Hughes sits in half guard.
Hughes is nestled in close to Sin, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Hughes is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

Sin is defending against the submission attempts here by Hughes.
Hughes prevents Sin from improving his position.
Hughes stops Sin from getting back to his feet.
Hughes lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Sin on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sin wants to stand back up but Hughes manages to pass into side control.
Sin wants to get back to his feet.
Hughes trying to control the action but Sin is working from the bottom.
Sin takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Sin wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Hughes controls the position.
Sin takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hughes is chipping away with strikes.
Sin is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Hughes is controlling him well.
Hughes works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Sin tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Hughes trying to control.

Hughes is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Sin knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Sin for a finish.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Hughes is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Sin knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Sin for a finish.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rafael Hughes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hughes, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael Hughes!