PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Bobby Haig (ranked 6753 p4p, 5134 weight class) and Kai Ayres (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Haig is coming into this fight with a significant injury, which will no doubt have an effect on his cardio. Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Haig
vs
Ayres

168 cm
18
152
0 - 3 - 0

180 cm
25
170
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

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 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Bobby Haig!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kai Ayres!
The judges for this bout are Percy O'Donnell, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Haig throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Ayres holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Haig is breathing heavily.
A short left from Ayres.

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

Excellent takedown into side control there by Ayres.
Ayres advances to full mount.
Ayres takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Haig tries to hold on but Ayres pushes him away.

Ayres is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Haig can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Haig might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Ayres lands a nice shot to the head.
Ayres thowing shots but they're missing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ayres controlling the pace for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ayres working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Ayres thowing shots but they're missing.
Ayres controlling from mount.
Ayres punching from mount but Haig doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Ayres takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Ayres thowing shots but they're missing.
Ayres looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Ayres working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Ayres has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ayres looking to control and managing it successfully.

Ayres working for a submission but Haig is keeping him at bay.
Ayres scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Haig?
Ayres throwing strikes here but Haig is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Ayres content just to control the position here.
Haig looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Ayres in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ayres controlling the position easily from mount.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ayres is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Haig is surviving well by controlling Ayres's body position as best he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ayres tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ayres thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Ayres controlling the pace for now.
Ayres's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Haig blocking the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ayres throws some wild stikes that Haig manages to avoid easily.
Haig is working to get back to half guard.
Ayres misses with a head shot.
Ayres content just to control the position here.
Ayres throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Ayres throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Ayres controlling his opponent.
Poor strikes thrown by Ayres there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Ayres controlling the position easily from mount.

Ayres looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kai Ayres dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bobby Haig's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Haig misses with a combination

and Ayres counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Haig!

Ayres is trying to get an arm triangle but Haig is defending well.
Ayres in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Ayres is continuing to stall.
Haig knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Ayres on the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The strikes coming from Ayres are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Ayres has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ayres advances nicely into full mount.
Haig blocking the ground and pound.
Haig holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Ayres tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ayres controlling his opponent.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Haig tries to hold on but Ayres postures up.
Ayres looking to control and managing it successfully.
Poor strikes thrown by Ayres there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Ayres controlling the position easily from mount.
Let's hope that Ayres has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ayres looking to ground and pound but Haig is blocking nicely.
Haig holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Ayres tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Ayres throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Ayres sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Ayres unloads with some shots from mount but Haig bucks and avoids them well.
Ayres lands a couple of good shots and Haig has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Ayres has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Haig's body.

Haig preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Ayres.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ayres is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Haig has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Ayres controlling the position well here. Haig rolled but Ayres kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.

Ayres working for a choke but Haig is defending well.

Ayres working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
What can Haig do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Haig showing good submission defense here.
Ayres misses with a punch to the head.
Haig is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.

Ayres looking to break Haig's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Haig remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Ayres will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Haig covers up after that shot from Ayres.
Ayres controls the position.

Haig is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Ayres gets his way!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kai Ayres showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Bobby Haig's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Haig rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Ayres counters by moving into the clinch.

Ayres gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Ayres looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ayres missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ayres is stalling in the full guard.
Ayres wants to stand but Haig has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Ayres throws a big elbow that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ayres is stalling in the full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Ayres.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Ayres closes the distance and pushes Haig back into the cage.
Come on Ayres - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Ayres breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Ayres changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Haig looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Haig prevents Ayres from moving into mount.

Ayres tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Ayres has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Ayres in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Bobby Haig has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ayres controls the position.

Ayres decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Ayres 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.
Ayres trying to stand up but can't free himself from Haig's guard.
Ayres stands and throws Haig's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Ayres stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Ayres drives through and clinches with Haig against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ayres throws an elbow that misses.
Ayres slows down the pace here.

Ayres pulls guard successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Ayres is on top in guard.

Ayres slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Kai Ayres has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ayres throws a big elbow that misses.
Ayres loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ayres 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.
Ayres passes Haig's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Haig is looking to improve his position.

Ayres is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Ayres is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ayres is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Ayres moves nicely into side control.
Ayres is staying tight to Haig's torso, preventing him from escaping.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ayres looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Haig is avoiding damage well.

Ayres is trying to get an arm triangle but Haig is defending well.
Kai Ayres is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Ayres tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kai Ayres comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ayres has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 24:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 24:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kai Ayres!