PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ben Licht (ranked 3216 p4p, 3947 weight class) and Derrick Gawain (ranked 388 p4p, 450 weight class). Licht's entrance music is The Exies - What You Deserve. A fine choice. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Derrick Gawain was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Licht
vs
Gawain

180 cm
19
181
3 - 1 - 0

184 cm
23
180
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Ben Licht!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Derrick Gawain!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Daniel Franklin and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gawain misses with a looping right.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Gawain has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Gawain closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Licht misses with a looping right.
Gawain throws a right hand that Licht ducks under and follows up with a left that Licht also avoids with ease.
Gawain waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Licht.
Licht connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Good work by Gawain as he checks the leg kick.
Licht avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Gawain thows a left - swing and a miss!
A swing and a miss from Gawain.
Gawain misses with a lunging right hand
and Licht counters with a nice uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice inside leg kick there by Licht. That's going to slow Gawain down.
Gawain throws a hook but Licht blocks it.
Gawain is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Licht.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Licht dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Gawain. That did some damage!
Licht uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Gawain.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Licht misses with a hook.
Licht has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Licht throws a leg kick but Gawain sees it coming and moves out of range.
Gawain misses with a wild combination.
Gawain throws a poor cross that misses
and Licht counters with an inside leg kick.
Licht finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
It seemed like Gawain was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Gawain misses with a straight left.
Licht throws a lazy right hand but Gawain sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gawain throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Licht counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Licht lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Licht slips a straight right by Gawain.
Licht throws a poor cross that misses
enabling Gawain to counter with a crisp jab.
A swing and a miss from Gawain.
Licht uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Gawain.
Licht is looking for a counter combo.
Licht steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Gawain.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Licht misses with an uppercut.
Gawain misses with the combination.
Gawain gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Licht.
Gawain might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gawain throws a lazy uppercut
and Licht counters with an outside leg kick.
Licht fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Gawain is out of range.
Gawain throws a combination that misses
and Licht counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A punch lands to the side of Gawain 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Licht throws a lazy right hand but Gawain sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gawain misses with an uppercut
and Licht connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Gawain on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

Gawain is rocked!
Licht lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Gawain is still on wobbly legs! Can Licht finish him?
Gawain throws a poor cross that misses
letting Licht counter with a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Gawain misses the target.
Licht is looking for a counter combo.
Gawain misses with a jab to the body
and Licht counters with a nice uppercut.
A big left from Licht misses.
Licht connects with an inside leg kick.
Gawain lands a jab.
Licht moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Gawain misses with a hook
and Licht counters with a slapping leg kick.
Licht lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Licht lands an uppercut out of nowhere! Gawain falls backwards - clearly groggy! Licht dives in and finishes the fight with more strikes for a TKO finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:43 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ben Licht!
After the fight, Ben Licht was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.