PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Robin Van Laere (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rico Drake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Van Laere
vs
Drake

168 cm
18
130 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

174 cm
22
140 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the bantamweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Robin Van Laere!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Rico Drake!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, James Atkins and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Drake gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Drake using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Van Laere has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Drake tries to throw a body punch but Van Laere avoids it by throwing Drake back against the cage.

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

Van Laere shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Van Laere was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Van Laere wants to control the pace but Drake is squirming around nicely.
Drake is looking to get to half guard.
Drake is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Van Laere is trying to take his opponent's back.
Drake is trying to escape the mount.
Drake is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

Van Laere stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Drake swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Drake scores with a jab to the body.
Van Laere blocks a head kick by Drake.

Van Laere changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Drake looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Drake tries to escape but Van Laere is in control.

Van Laere tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Van Laere has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Van Laere trying to control the action but Drake is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drake manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Drake trying to control from the bottom.
Van Laere looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Drake throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Drake misses with a looping right.
Drake moves out of range as Van Laere throws a body kick.
Van Laere misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Drake misses with a two punch combination.
Drake keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
A right-left combo lands from Drake.
Van Laere fails in his attempt to clinch.
Van Laere looks for a takedown but Drake sprawls well.
Drake swinging wilding here.
Drake throws a nice looking combination but Van Laere bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Drake doesn't succeed with the takedown

The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
and Van Laere counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Drake lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van Laere backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drake misses with a short punch on the inside.
Van Laere fails to pull guard.
Drake tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Van Laere escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
An inside leg kick lands from Van Laere.
Van Laere walks into a left hand.

Van Laere instigates a clinch.
Drake lands with a light punch inside.
Van Laere keeps control of Drake as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Van Laere with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Van Laere throws a head punch that misses.
Van Laere on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A short body shot lands from Van Laere as the two fighters clinch.

Van Laere has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Drake uses from the top position.

Van Laere working for a triangle but Drake defends it easily.
Van Laere is breathing heavily.
Drake throwing strikes but missing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Drake doesn't manage to clinch there - Van Laere circles away.
Van Laere misses with a double jab

and Drake counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Drake.
Drake misses with a hook from the clinch.
Drake stops a takedown attempt from Van Laere.
A short right from Drake on the inside.
Van Laere wants to break the clinch but can't.

Van Laere breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Van Laere fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Drake, pushing him back against the cage.
Van Laere wants to break free but Drake has control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Van Laere manages to break the clinch.
Van Laere gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Drake counters with a right hand to the body.
Van Laere checks a leg kick nicely.
Drake misses with a wild combination.
Nice sprawl there from Drake as Van Laere shoots in.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake throws a right and a left that both miss.
Robin Van Laere is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Drake closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Van Laere 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.

Drake working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Van Laere doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Van Laere manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Drake has his foot on Van Laere's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Van Laere works his way back into a safe position though.
Van Laere knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Drake on the ground.

Van Laere avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Van Laere won't allow Drake to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Van Laere gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Van Laere throws a head kick that Drake semi-blocks.
Van Laere misses with a head kick.
Drake throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Drake clinches up against the cage.
Drake tries to break the clinch but Van Laere is controlling the position.
Drake tries to break the clinch but Van Laere is controlling the position.
Drake throws a knee to the head but misses.

Van Laere manages to break the clinch.
Drake works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Van Laere throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Drake moves out of range as Van Laere throws a body kick.
Drake connects with a looping right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Laere lands a head kick!
Drake lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Van Laere will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Drake avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Van Laere closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Drake to the mat! Drake manages to get full guard.

Drake is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Drake looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Drake tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Drake is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Van Laere with a flurry of punches that miss.
Van Laere wants to control from the top but Drake keeps moving.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Drake has a closed guard, preventing Van Laere from standing up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rico Drake showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Drake shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Van Laere avoids a punch combination nicely.
Drake stuffs the takedown.
Drake tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Van Laere misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Robin Van Laere seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Drake dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Drake closes the distance and clinches.
Drake misses with some punches.
Drake misses with a hook from the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Drake jumps guard.
Robin Van Laere overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Van Laere trying to control the position from guard on top but Drake is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drake looking to hit a scissor sweep but Van Laere is one step ahead there.

Drake has thrown up a leg looking for a triangle. Van Laere doesn't defend quickly enough and Drake has managed to lock this one up! Can Van Laere escape?! NO! He's tapping out! Damn, that was a quick submission - congrats to Drake on a fantastic submission victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:50 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Rico Drake!
Rico Drake is the new bantamweight champion!