PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Dragon Li (ranked 5899 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Means (ranked 25228 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Li
vs
Means

176 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

173 cm
18
152 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Dragon Li!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chris Means!
The judges for this bout are Ben Watson, Topper Green and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A left lands for Li.
Li lands a jab to the nose.

Li rushes Means and presses him up against the cage.
Li content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Li struggles to land a body shot inside as Means controls his hands.
Li lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Stalling in the clinch from Li.
Means looking for a takedown.
Means fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Li misses with some punches.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Li content to slow the pace in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Li avoiding damage.
Li seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Li lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Li presses Means against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Li swings wildly with an uppercut but Means uses good head movement to avoid it.
Li lands a shoulder strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li throws a head punch that misses.
Li lands a right hand.
A bit of stalling here from Li.
Li lands with a short shot to the head.
Li tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Li presses Means against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Means jumps guard but Li stands there with Means around his waist. Means gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Dragon Li has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Means.
Means wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Li has him pressed against the cage.
Li is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Li misses with the head strike.
Li tries to throw a body punch but Means avoids it by throwing Li back against the cage.
Means misses with a hook from the clinch.
Means blocking some punches.
Li swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Li misses with the head strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Li leaning against his opponent.
Li misses with a body punch.
Means is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Li just leaning against Means, taking a breather.
Li leaning his opponent against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Li for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Li tries to throw a body punch but Means avoids it by throwing Li back against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Means.
Li lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Li is pushing Means up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Li misses with a short punch on the inside.
Li throws a head punch that misses.
Li dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Li throws a head punch that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Means blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Li gets underhooks to prevent Means's takedown attempt.
Li lands a body punch.
Means has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Li is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Li doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Li slows down the pace here.
Means is trying to force a seperation but Li has the dominant position.
Li can't find room to land a body shot as Means controls the action.
Li fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Li lands a right hand that snaps the head of Means backwards.
Li lands a right hand that snaps the head of Means backwards.
Li lands a nice uppercut.
Li effectively controlling the action here.
Li is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Means blocks an uppercut.
Li misses with the head strike.
Li lands a left hand.
Li content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Means misses with a hook from the clinch.
Li has Means pushed against the cage.
Means is looking to break free of the clinch but Li has double underhooks.
Means blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Means tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Li smiles and moves away.
Means is looking to clinch but Li is avoiding it.
Means on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Li has closed the distance and engaged Means in a clinch.
The referee is keeping an eye on Li - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Li takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Li gets through Means's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dragon Li dominated that round.
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.

Li lands a nice shot to the body.

Li drives through and clinches with Means against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Means.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Li.
Li misses with the head strike.
Means can't get the takedown.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Means.
Means has Li pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Li manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Dragon Li has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Li pressing his opponent against the cage.
Li stalling against the cage.
Li lands a left hand that snaps the head of Means backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Li tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Li is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Means can do to turn this around?
Li misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Li misses with the head strike.
Li just leaning against Means, taking a breather.
Li misses with the head strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Li.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Means letting Li take a breather here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Dragon Li.
Means walks into a jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Means looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A jab from Li does it's job there.
Li darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Means walks into a straight right hand from Li.
Li scores with a jab to the jaw.
Nice uppercut lands for Li. That snapped Means's head back.
Chris Means is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Means fails to land the takedown.
Dragon Li has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Means.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Means tries to clinch up.
Means is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Li tests Means's chin there with a solid looking shot.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Li cracks Means with an open hand slap.
Li's jab looks to have found its range, popping Means under the eye.

Li fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Means, pushing him back against the cage.
Li lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Means blocks a body shot from Li.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Means jumps guard but Li turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
A head punch on the inside from Li fails to land.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Li takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Means is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Li tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Means fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Li tries a body shot but Means blocks it.
Li slowing the pace effectively.
Li scores with a shoulder strike.
Li leaning against his opponent.
Li has Means pressed against the cage.
Means tries to pull guard but Li holds him up against the cage and eventually Means drops back down to his feet.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Means looking to slow down the pace here.
Means tries to circle away but Li has him pinned against the cage.
A short uppercut from Li.
Li fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Li effectively controlling the action here.
Li struggles to land a body shot inside as Means controls his hands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li misses with a short punch on the inside.
Means blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Li swings wildly with an uppercut but Means uses good head movement to avoid it.
Means tries to score a body lock takedown but Li shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
A short uppercut from Li.
Li is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Li lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A bit of stalling here from Li.
Come on Li - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
A short right from Li.
Means is working for takedown but Li is calmly controlling the position for now.
Li misses with the head strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dragon Li dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Li lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Means drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Li throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Means is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Dragon Li seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Means throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Li's waist but Li gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Means off to one side.
Means tries to clinch up.
Li was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

Li moves into the clinch successfully.
Means blocks an uppercut.
Li has Means pushed against the cage.
Li pushes Means back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Means is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Means can't get the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Means is trying to break the clinch but Li has him pressed against the cage.
Li scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Means blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Li lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Means backwards.
Means prevents a body shot from Li.
Li effectively controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li gets underhooks to prevent Means's takedown attempt.
Dragon Li has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Means.
Li gets through Means's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Li misses with a punch to the body.
Li scores with a shot to the side of Means's head.
Li is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Means looking for a takedown.
Li stalling the fight.
Means blocking some punches.
Means blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Li fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Li takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Li doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Li stalling against the cage.
Li lands a hook that snaps the head of Means backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Means jumps guard but Li turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Means goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Li stalls.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Means blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Li working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Means is trying to pull guard but Li has him pressed against the cage.
Li tries to stall but Means uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Li works on Means's body with a couple of short punches.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Li misses with a punch on the inside.
Li has a couple of punches blocked by Means.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Means blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Li has Means pushed against the cage.
Li taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Dragon Li.
Li missing with a left hand there. Means was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Li is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Means.
Li throws a hook but Means avoids it easily.
Means will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Means uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Li.
Means walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Li uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Means.
Means closes the distance and clinches up with Li, looking for a takedown. Means pushes Li against the cage but Li circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A counter left hand to the body from Li misses its target.
Li scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

Li takes the fight into the clinch.
Li stalling in the clinch but Means improves position.
Li leaning against his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Li misses with a short punch on the inside.
Li misses with some punches.
A short right from Li.
Li misses with a body punch.
Means blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Means is trying to force a seperation but Li has the dominant position.
Means blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Means tries for a takedown but Li manages to get underhooks.
Li is pressed up against the cage. Means has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Li down to the mat. Li avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from Li. Means does a little dance to reset his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Means shoots in but no luck this time.
Li swats away the attempt to clinch by Means.
Means looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Chris Means has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Means tries to bum rush Li with a series of wild strikes but Li uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dragon Li showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Li 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 Ben Watson scores the fight 30:24
Judge Topper Green scores the fight 30:24
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dragon Li!
During a confident post fight interview, Dragon Li thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.