PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Amari Dion (ranked 4653 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lenny Crawford (ranked 3334 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Dion
vs
Crawford

168 cm
25
153 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

170 cm
25
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

JD's Island Shack

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Amari Dion!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Lenny Crawford!
The judges for this bout are Santiago Holmes, Winston Alpacca and Dirk Anderson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Crawford moves out of range of the strikes.
Crawford doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Crawford ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dion moves away.
Dion attempts a counter takedown but Crawford avoids it well and moves away.
Crawford misses the jab.
Crawford with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Crawford lands with a good body shot.
Dion takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A left lands for Crawford.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Crawford.
Crawford blocks a jab.
Crawford misses with a straight left.
Dion misses with an uppercut
and Crawford counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Dion gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Crawford looks to land a left hand but Dion moved out of range nicely.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Crawford lands with a straight right. Dion didn't see that one coming.
Dion has been working on his balance at King Of Pain, so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by Crawford.
Crawford lands a nice looking body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawford comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Crawford jabs Dion right on the nose. Dion blinks but takes it well.
Crawford steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Dion.
Crawford scores with a jab to the head.
Crawford cracks Dion with a right hand to the side of the head.
Crawford looks to land a right hand but Dion moved out of range.
Crawford thuds a left hand into Dion's body.
Dion looks to land a left hand but Crawford moved out of range nicely.
Dion shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Lenny Crawford is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Dion shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Crawford's guard.
Crawford is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Dion dives into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Crawford being controlled for a moment.
Crawford is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dion tries for a kimura but Crawford is defending well.
Crawford is looking for a sweep.
Crawford sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

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

Crawford looking for submissions off his back.

Crawford is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Dion pulls his head out easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dion prevents Crawford from improving his position.

Dion is working for a submission of some sort.

Dion is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Crawford sees it coming and defends easily.

Dion is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Dion wants to work for an arm triangle but Crawford is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Dion is thwarting Crawford's attempts to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Crawford looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Crawford looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Dion trying to control the action but Crawford is working from the bottom.
Dion is controlling the pace.
Dion's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Crawford trying to control but Dion postures up.

Crawford looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Dion stalling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lenny Crawford dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Nice cross by Crawford.

Crawford gets caught napping as Dion dives in and scores a takedown. Crawford manages to retain guard.
Dion trying to control but Crawford is working from the bottom.
Dion not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Dion got a little sloppy there for a moment and Crawford has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Dion has managed to get both his arms back between Crawford's legs - danger averted.
Dion trying to control but Crawford is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dion not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dion advances to half guard.
Crawford gets full guard.

Crawford is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Dion trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

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

Crawford is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Crawford looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Dion has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Dion 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.

Crawford is looking for a triangle but Dion pushes his legs off easily.
Dion pushes down on Crawford's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dion is keen to just control but Crawford is a slippery customer.

Crawford looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Dion is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Dion is working for a kimura but Crawford is defending it quite comfortably.
Crawford is not content to let Dion control the position.

Dion is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Crawford defends it well.
Dion is keen to just control but Crawford is a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dion is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Crawford sees it coming and defends easily.

Crawford looking for submissions off his back.
Dion uses his free foot to push down on Crawford's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Crawford.

Dion is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Crawford can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Crawford is in all sorts of trouble here.
Dion wants to control the pace but Crawford is squirming around nicely.
Crawford is working to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Dion looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.

Dion working for a submission but Crawford is keeping him at bay.
Crawford is desperately trying to improve his position but Dion has a good base and remains in mount.
Crawford bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Dion has his foot on Crawford's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Crawford works his way back into a safe position though.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Crawford trying to control but Dion is working from the bottom.

Crawford drops back, looking for a kneebar! Dion looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Dion looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Dion!

Crawford tries to get back to half guard but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Amari Dion dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Crawford lands with a nice body punch.
Dion takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Lenny Crawford seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Dion throws an overhand right that lands on Crawford's shoulder, as Crawford tries to avoid the shot.
Crawford looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Crawford swings widly with a right hand

and Dion counters with a takedown into side control.

Dion tries for a kimura but Crawford is defending well.
Dion working away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dion trying to control the action but Crawford is working from the bottom.
Dion is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Crawford will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crawford is looking for a sweep.

Dion is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Crawford has escaped the position, nice work there.

Dion is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Crawford is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Crawford wants to control but Dion postures up.

Dion looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Crawford is looking for a sweep.

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.

Dion thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Crawford is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Dion passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Crawford!
Crawford is trying to escape the mount.
Dion looking to control but Crawford is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dion is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Crawford has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Dion can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Crawford is looking to escape.
Crawford wants to hold on but Dion pushes him away.
Dion tries to control but Crawford wriggling away.
Crawford is desperately trying to improve his position but Dion has a good base and remains in mount.
Crawford wants to control but Dion is having none of it.

Dion get's back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crawford lands with a nice body punch.
Dion shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Crawford throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Dion sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Dion swings widly with a right hand
and Crawford cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Dion takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

Dion closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Crawford did well to prevent Dion getting side control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
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!
Crawford gets full guard.
Dion sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dion advances to half guard.

Dion is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Amari Dion.
I think Dion 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 Santiago Holmes scores the fight 29:28
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Amari Dion!