PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alfredo Amarena (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas Raven (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Amarena comes to the cage accompanied by Face the Pain - Stemm. Alfredo Amarena had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Amarena
vs
Raven

185 cm
25
215 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

188 cm
23
197 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Granite chin

TWGC Champion
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Alfredo Amarena!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Thomas Raven!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Daniel Franklin and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Amarena checks a leg kick.
A big left from Raven misses.
Amarena does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Amarena throws a hook to the side of Raven's head but Raven sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Amarena uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Raven.
Amarena connects with a body shot.
Thomas Raven seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Raven darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Raven working over Amarena with some ground and pound. Amarena looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Raven is trying to control the action in half guard but Amarena is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Still in half guard, Raven seems content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raven working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Raven lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Raven not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Raven lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Raven is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Raven missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Raven drops an elbow to the side of Amarena's head.
Raven is trying to control. Amarena wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Raven not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Raven thows a huge punch but Amarena dodges it nicely.
Raven is nestled in close to Amarena, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Amarena is not content to let Raven control the position.
Raven thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Amarena's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raven throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Raven wants to lay and pray for a moment but Amarena keeps working.
Raven lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Raven missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Raven thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Amarena has hold of Raven's hands but Raven slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Raven lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Raven lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Amarena keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Raven not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Raven sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Raven connects with a nice short shot to Amarena's temple.
Raven lands strikes from half guard.
Raven is looking to take a break and control but Amarena is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Raven controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Raven lands a nice short elbow.
Raven prevents Amarena from improving his position.
Raven thows a huge punch but Amarena dodges it nicely.
Raven wants to control but Amarena is keeping him busy.
Raven thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
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!
Raven is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Raven throwing shots but Amarena is blocking nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Raven trying to control the pace.
Raven scoring with strikes to the body and head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Raven scores with a leg kick.
Amarena gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Raven.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Raven. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Raven scores with a leg kick.
Raven misses with a wild body shot.
Amarena fails to land the takedown.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Raven looks to score with a jab to the body but Amarena is just out of range.
Raven with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Raven bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Amarena's head.
Amarena takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Raven throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Amarena stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Raven scores with a crisp jab that stopped Amarena in his tracks.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Amarena takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raven throws a leg kick which misses Amarena's front leg but catches the back leg as Amarena tries to avoid it.
Raven lands a nice hook to Amarena's body. Amarena takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Raven connects with a leg kick. Amarena looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Raven misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Amarena.
Raven scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Amarena doesn't seem bothered though.
Raven lands with a nice body punch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Raven, as that shot connected.
Raven lands a jab.
A lazy left from Raven finds it's target.
Amarena on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Raven misses with a wild body shot.
Amarena takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raven throws a leg kick which misses Amarena's front leg but catches the back leg as Amarena tries to avoid it.
Raven's jab looks to have found its range, popping Amarena under the eye.

Raven 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.
Raven passes into half guard.
Raven keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Raven connects with a nice short shot to Amarena's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raven working over Amarena with some ground and pound. Amarena looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Raven lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Amarena is staying active underneath Raven, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Raven connects with a nice short shot to Amarena's temple.
Raven lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Raven looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Amarena with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Raven is trying to control the action in half guard but Amarena is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raven throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Raven has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Raven sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Amarena defending well though.
Raven working over Amarena with some ground and pound. Amarena looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Raven working over Amarena with some ground and pound. Amarena looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Raven trying to control the action but Amarena is working from the bottom.
Raven is nestled in close to Amarena, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Ground and pound from Raven.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Raven working Amarena over with strikes.
Raven working the head and body with strikes.
Raven seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Raven showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Raven.
Raven clobbers Amarena with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Amarena throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Raven throws a nice outside leg kick.
Amarena avoids a punch combination nicely.

Raven catches Amarena napping and connects with a big right hand that sends Amarena to the canvas!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Raven wants to control from the top but Amarena keeps moving.
Raven has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Raven slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Raven lands a nice forearm strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raven cracks Amarena with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Raven landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Amarena is not content to let Raven control the position.
Raven scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Amarena to see if he's OK.
Raven working the ground and pound from side control.
Raven lands an elbow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Raven landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Raven lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Thomas Raven has got the better of the ground game so far.
Raven landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Raven trying to control the action but Amarena is working from the bottom.
Alfredo Amarena has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raven working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Amarena is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Raven scoring with punches from side control.
Raven working the head with strikes.
Raven is putting a hurting on Amarena here, landing some big shots from side control.
Amarena is trying to escape the position but Raven is controlling the position.
Raven looks up at the clock and then as Amarena takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Raven smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Raven working the ground and pound.

Amarena is rocked!
Raven wants to lay and pray for a moment but Amarena keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raven connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Amarena some visible discomfort.
Raven connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Amarena some visible discomfort.
Oh Amarena is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Raven is staying tight to Amarena's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Raven scores with a couple of short elbows.
Raven scoring with punches from side control.
Amarena seems to have got his legs back now.
Raven remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Raven tries to advance to mount but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raven taking a breather here.
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!
Amarena is trying to get back to half guard.
Thomas Raven is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Amarena is not content to let Raven control the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Amarena striking from the bottom but nothing landed.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thomas Raven comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Raven 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 24:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 24:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thomas Raven!