PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jake Ray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Olaf Thorsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Ray
vs
Thorsson

187 cm
23
185 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

185 cm
22
175 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
KO power

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Highland Clothing

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jake Ray!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Olaf Thorsson!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Konstantin Menshow and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ray gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Thorsson to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Ray pulls Thorsson in close to prevent any damage.
Thorsson preventing the sweep.

Thorsson drops back, looking for a kneebar! Ray looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Ray looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Ray!

Thorsson wants to control but Ray postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorsson is trying to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Ray seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Thorsson for as long as he can get away with.
You can see the frustration on Thorsson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Thorsson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Ray working away.
Thorsson tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Ray moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Ray has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Thorsson is looking for a sweep.
Thorsson struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Thorsson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ray is fending him off so far but Thorsson persists. Nope, Ray circles away and we're back to standing.
Ray lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Ray swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Thorsson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Ray swivels and escapes.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Thorsson.
Jake Ray has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Olaf Thorsson.

Ray takes the fight into the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Ray.
Thorsson wants a takedown but no success here.
Thorsson has Ray pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ray manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Still in the clinch, Ray scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ray scores with a shoulder strike.
Still in the clinch, Ray scores with a nice short uppercut.
Ray lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Thorsson.
Thorsson looks winded!
Thorsson can't get the takedown.
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!
Thorsson looking for a takedown.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Ray stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Ray manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Ray controlling the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Ray manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Thorsson on his heels. He'll look to pass Thorsson's guard now, I'm sure.
Thorsson is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

Thorsson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ray can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Our spies down at at Georgian MMA Gym inform us that Thorsson has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Thorsson is trying to control the position but Ray postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Thorsson is looking for a triangle but Ray pushes his legs off easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ray sitting in guard here, content to control.
Ray postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thorsson working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Ray has passed into half guard!
Still in half guard, Ray seems content to control.

Thorsson has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Ray escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Ray!
Ray wants to stand but Thorsson is controlling his arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Thorsson is trying to control Ray's posture but Ray avoids it.
Ray controls the position.
Thorsson can't do much from the bottom here.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Thorsson tries to bench press Ray off him but Ray keeps the position.
You can see the frustration on Thorsson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Ray scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Thorsson doesn't seem bothered though.
Thorsson is breathing heavily.
Ray lands with a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ray wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Ray scoring well with a low kick there.

Ray closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Thorsson to the mat! Thorsson manages to get full guard.
Ray content to stall in guard here.

Thorsson looking for a guillotine here but Ray defends easily.
Ray is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thorsson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Ray is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Olaf Thorsson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thorsson tries for a takedown but Ray sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Ray fires out a quick counter leg kick but Thorsson just manages to avoid it.
Ray is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thorsson can do to turn this around?
Good exchange - Ray coming out on top.
Thorsson fails to land the takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jake Ray dominated that second round.
That's time! Ray's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Ray misses with a body shot.
Ray takes a swing at Thorsson's ribcage but misses.
Thorsson takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Thorsson shoots in for a takedown but Ray shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Thorsson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Thorsson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Ray sprawls well. Ray wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Thorsson gets slowly back to his feet.
Jake Ray has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Olaf Thorsson.
Ray throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Olaf Thorsson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorsson shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Thorsson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thorsson avoids the body shot from Ray.

Ray is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Thorsson's half guard.
We've been hearing that Ray has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Jake Ray overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ray tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ray sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Ray moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Thorsson.
Thorsson tries to improve position but can't.
Ray staying calm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Ray'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.
You can see the frustration on Thorsson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorsson trying his best to control but Ray has mounted him.
Ray tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ray continues to stall.
Thorsson tries to hold on but Ray postures up.
Ray takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Olaf Thorsson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thorsson is looking to improve his position but Ray isn't that keen on the idea.
Thorsson is still trying to improve position.
Ray looking to control and managing it successfully.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
More hug and hope from Ray.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jake Ray showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ray has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:25
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:25
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jake Ray!
A relieved looking Jake Ray thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.