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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Conor Butcher (ranked 375 p4p, 681 weight class) and RJ Cain (ranked 55 p4p, 106 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Butcher might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Eaten by Bloodbath. Cain has chosen Middle Class Rut as his entrance music. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!
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| 173 cm
22
169
9 - 1 - 1 |
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183 cm
25
180
11 - 3 - 0 |
Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin |
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Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 1 - 1, fighting out of London, Conor Butcher!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, RJ Cain!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Edson Gomes and Mauricio Rocha.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cain on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Cain throws a shot from downtown. Butcher moves away and avoids it.
Butcher scores with a shot to the body.
Cain's coach down at Hardcore MMA was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Cain's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
A big right from Cain misses.
Nice cross by Cain.
It looks like Conor Butcher has been cut.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Butcher.
Butcher dives in for a single leg takedown but Cain sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Cain swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Butcher shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cain as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Conor Butcher. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Butcher throws a looping overhand right but Cain ducks down to avoid it.
Cain moves forwards but Butcher connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Butcher looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Butcher looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Butcher fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cain manages to avoid it.
A little jabbing left from Cain on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Butcher gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Butcher tries to pull guard but Cain holds him up against the cage and eventually Butcher drops back down to his feet.
A head punch on the inside from Butcher fails to land.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Butcher tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Cain is trying to force a seperation but Butcher has the dominant position.
Cain leaning his opponent against the cage.
Butcher misses with a body punch.
Cain misses with the head strike.
Cain softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Butcher tries to score a body lock takedown but Cain shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Butcher misses with a hook from the clinch.
Butcher pulls Cain into guard.
Cain trying to control but Butcher is working from the bottom.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Butcher holds on and takes a little breather.
Cain trying to stand up but can't free himself from Butcher's guard.
Cain controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Cain really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Butcher. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butcher lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.
Butcher throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Butcher wants to control from the top but Cain keeps moving.
Cain keeping full guard, as Butcher tries to pass.
Butcher trying to control the position from guard on top but Cain is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Butcher stopping the sweep attempt from Cain.
Butcher chips away with some ground and pound.
Butcher stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cain swivels though and keeps the full guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cain working a defensive guard here.
Butcher wants to control from the top but Cain keeps moving.
Butcher landing some decent shots from guard.
Cain is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Butcher lands a couple of digs.
Butcher trying to control but Cain is working from the bottom.
Butcher trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Butcher with a nice head shot there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butcher throws a big elbow that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Butcher accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Butcher lands a couple of elbows.
Butcher postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Butcher 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.
Cain looking to control.
Cain wants to get back to his feet but Butcher is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Butcher advances to half guard.
Cain blocking the ground and pound attempt from Butcher.
Butcher prevents Cain from standing back up.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Butcher lands a nice short elbow.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cain blocking the ground and pound attempt from Butcher.
Cain avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Butcher.
Butcher not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Conor Butcher dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Conor Butcher's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!
Cain avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Butcher moves away from the strike by Cain.
Butcher half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Butcher darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Butcher is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Cain can do to turn this around?
Butcher missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Cain is trying to stand.
Butcher is taking a breather. Cain 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.
Cain taking some punishment here, with Butcher in his half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cain keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Butcher not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Conor Butcher overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Butcher slips a nice elbow through Cain's hands, connecting with Cain's forehead.
Butcher prevents Cain from standing back up.
Butcher is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Butcher looks to land a strike but Cain avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Butcher trying to control but Cain is working from the bottom.
Cain working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Butcher.
Cain avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Butcher postures up in Cain's guard and throws a big left but Cain blocks it.
Butcher throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Butcher wants to control from the top but Cain keeps moving.
Butcher is looking to work some ground and pound but Cain has wrist control.
Butcher distracts Cain with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Butcher throws a big elbow that misses.
Cain preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Cain wants to get back to his feet but Butcher is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butcher postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Cain looking to control.
Cain avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Butcher throws a big right hand that misses.
Butcher in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Cain is looking to stand up but Butcher isn't so interested in that idea.
Butcher throwing strikes from guard but Cain blocks nicely.
Butcher works over Cain with some ground and pound from guard.
Butcher passes Cain's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Butcher missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Butcher is trying to control. Cain wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Cain pushes Butcher off looking to stand but Butcher dives back in and keeps control.
Cain wants to get back to full guard.
Butcher is trying to control the action in half guard but Cain is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Butcher throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Butcher wants to take a breather but Cain is having none of it.
Butcher is looking to advance position but Cain won't allow it.
Cain is trying to control but can't.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Butcher is pressing down on Cain's thigh, looking to free his foot. Cain is holding on for now.
Cain has hold of Butcher's hands but Butcher slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Butcher is pressing down on Cain's thigh, looking to free his foot. Cain is holding on for now.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butcher lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Cain is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Cain is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Butcher keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cain is staying active underneath Butcher, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Butcher not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Cain keeping control of the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Conor Butcher dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Conor Butcher's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!
Butcher misses with the combination.
Butcher lands with an uppercut that bounces Cain off the cage and back into range.
Butcher lands the left hand.
A big right from Cain misses.
Butcher throws a right hand that misses
and Cain counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A telegraphed right hand from Cain misses the target.
Butcher misses with a takedown attempt - Cain sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cain jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Butcher just misses with a punch to the body.
Cain stuffs the takedown.
Butcher cracks Cain with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Butcher lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Cain at a distance.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cain ducks under a wild hook from Butcher.
Butcher fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Conor Butcher. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cain lands with a nice body punch.
Butcher takes a swing at Cain's ribcage but misses.
Butcher rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cain moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Butcher will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Butcher swings for the body but Cain moves out of range.
Butcher swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Butcher clobbers Cain with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Butcher throws a jab but it's blocked by Cain.
Cain is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Butcher.
Good standup being displayed there by Butcher as he connects with a hook.
Butcher fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Cain avoids it really well and circles away.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butcher dodges the punch combination from Cain.
Butcher walks into a left hand.
Cain takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Butcher keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Cain.
Butcher changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Cain tries to avoid it but Butcher manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Cain to the ground. Cain escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Butcher bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Conor Butcher seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cain throws a body punch but Butcher moves out of range.
Butcher wants to clinch up but Cain keeps it at a distance.
Cain ducks under a wild hook from Butcher.
Good shot there by Cain.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cain takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Butcher fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cain manages to avoid it.
Cain appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Cain misses with a wild body shot.
Nice sprawl there from Cain as Butcher shoots in.
Butcher looks for a takedown but Cain sprawls well.
Cain throws a left and a right that both miss
and Butcher counters with a shoot takedown. Cain fights it but they end up in guard.
Cain pushes Butcher off and gets back to his feet.
Cain throws a jab when Butcher was well out of range.
Cain keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cain misses with a jab, cross combination.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Butcher throws a body shot but no joy.
Butcher falls off balance throwing a combination
and Cain counters with a right hand to the body.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butcher looks to score with a jab to the body but Cain is just out of range.
Cain slaps away a takedown attempt from Butcher, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Butcher takes a swing at Cain's ribcage but misses.
Cain throws the left hand but Butcher avoids the punch easily.
Butcher staying out of range there.
Butcher changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Cain with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Butcher drives through with a takedown into guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Butcher stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cain swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Cain is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Butcher in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close third round but RJ Cain just about did enough to take it.
The cut man is working on Conor Butcher's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.
Cain on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Cain's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Cain duly obliges.
Cain cracks Butcher with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Butcher will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Cain! But no joy.
A looping hook to the body misses from Butcher. Cain does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cain scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Butcher doesn't seem bothered though.
RJ Cain seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Butcher fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Butcher tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Cain connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cain lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Butcher at a distance.
Butcher manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Cain on his heels. He'll look to pass Cain's guard now, I'm sure.
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!
Butcher slips nicely into half guard.
Butcher passes to full mount!
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cain wants to try and get back to his feet.
Butcher unloads with some shots from mount but Cain bucks and avoids them well.
Cain is trying to stand up.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Cain can do anything to dispel that myth.
Butcher working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Cain is desperately trying to improve his position but Butcher has a good base and remains in mount.
Butcher scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Cain?
Butcher misses with a head shot.
Butcher cracks Cain with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Butcher trying to control but Cain is having none of it.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butcher lands a big elbow.
Cain tries to reverse the position but Butcher maintains control.
Cain blocking the ground and pound.
Butcher lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cain avoids a series of strikes thrown by Butcher.
Butcher connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Butcher thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Cain is wriggling around trying to escape.
Butcher lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Cain hang on?
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Butcher throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Cain because Butcher loaded up on that one.
Butcher dominating with strikes here.
Butcher landing shots from mount.
Cain avoids a series of strikes thrown by Butcher.
The referee warns Cain that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Butcher punching from mount but Cain doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Butcher working the ground and pound effectively.
Butcher raining down hammerfists from mount.
Butcher lands a nice shot to the head.
Cain keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Butcher punishing his opponent with strikes.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butcher landing strikes from the mount and Cain is in trouble!
Cain wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Butcher.
Butcher landing shots from mount.
Butcher raining down shots from the mount!
Butcher thowing shots but they're missing.
Butcher with good strikes from the mount here!
The referee warns Cain that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Butcher lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Cain hang on?
Cain tries to hold on but Butcher pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Conor Butcher had his way with RJ Cain in that round.
The cut man is working on Conor Butcher's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!
Butcher takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Cain throws out a loose jab but Butcher uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cain takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Nice straight punches there by Cain. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Cain.
Butcher closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Butcher lands in his opponent's guard.
Cain avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Butcher lands a couple of elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Butcher chips away with some ground and pound.
Butcher working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Butcher stands up over Cain, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Butcher wants to control from the top but Cain keeps moving.
That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Butcher accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Butcher passes Cain's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Butcher throwing shots but Cain is blocking nicely.
Butcher thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Butcher thows a huge punch but Cain dodges it nicely.
Butcher not doing much here.
Butcher thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cain's head.
Butcher looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Cain with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cain taking some punishment here, with Butcher in his half guard.
Butcher not landing any meaningful shots this time.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butcher is nestled in close to Cain, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Cain wants to control but Butcher is keeping busy.
Butcher thows a huge punch but Cain dodges it nicely.
Butcher throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Butcher not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Butcher looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Butcher thows a huge punch but Cain dodges it nicely.
Cain keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Butcher seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Cain does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Butcher moves into full mount! Cain won't be happy about that!
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Butcher with good strikes from the mount here!
Cain is trying desperately to improve position.
Butcher lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Conor Butcher is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Butcher content just to control the position here.
RJ Cain has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cain wants to control but Butcher is having none of it.
Butcher controlling the pace for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Butcher'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.
And that's the end of the fight!
Conor Butcher showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Butcher 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 49:46
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 49:46
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 49:46
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Conor Butcher!
Conor Butcher retains his welterweight title!
An out of breath Conor Butcher thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
51% |
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