PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Don Ho (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diablo Rage (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ho's entrance music is Hawaii Five O Theme. A fine choice. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Ho
vs
Rage

185 cm
23
197 lbs
1 - 3 - 1

185 cm
23
188 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Don Ho!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Diablo Rage!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rage has Ho up against the ropes in a clinch.

Ho pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ho moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rage is looking for a takedown up against the ropes. Ho gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Rage tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Ho just stands there and leans against the ropes.
Ho stops a takedown attempt from Rage.
Don Ho has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diablo Rage.

Rage has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Ho uses from the top position.
Ho throwing strikes but missing.
Ho wants to stand but Rage has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Rage is trying to control the position but Ho postures up.
Rage is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Ho keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rage prevents Ho from improving his position.
Ho wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Rage content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Rage is trying to control. Ho wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rage tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ho looks like he's trying to stand up.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Ho misses with a wild combination.
Rage swinging wilding here.

Rage bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Ho trying to remain calm as Rage controls from the top position.
Ho tries to escape but Rage is in control.
Rage laying and praying for a moment but Ho takes advantage and regains half guard.
Rage moves into full mount! Ho won't be happy about that!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rage looking to control but Ho is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rage connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Ho sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Rage stalling away here and it's allowed Ho to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

Rage stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Ho throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

so Rage counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Ho is breathing heavily.
Ho being controlled here, momentarily.
Rage has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Ho is proving hard to escape from.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Ho wants to stand but Rage is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diablo Rage dominated that round.
That's time! Ho's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ho misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Good standup being displayed there by Ho as he connects with a hook.
Rage will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rage fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A left and a right from Ho both land. Nice combination.
A slow jab from Ho misses its intended target.
Ho takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rage shoots in but no luck this time.
Rage tries to clinch up.
Don Ho seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rage will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Don Ho has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diablo Rage.
Ho fails to land with a series of punches.
Rage avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Ho with a nice cross.
Rage looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Rage fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rage takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ho moves into range and connects with a jab.
Ho uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Rage.
Nice takedown defense from Ho. No joy for Rage on that attempt.
Ho lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Ho throws a hook but Rage blocks it.
Rage takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Ho keeps the fight on the outside.
Ho lands a two punch combo.
Rage looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ho is fending him off so far but Rage persists. Nope, Ho circles away and we're back to standing.

Rage clinches up against the ropes.

Rage breaks the clinch.
Ho fails to land with a series of punches.
Rage shoots in for a double leg but Ho sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Ho falls off balance throwing a combination

and Rage counters with a shoot takedown. Ho fights it but they end up in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rage is stalling in the full guard.
Rage trying to control but Ho is working from the bottom.
Ho is looking to stand up but Rage isn't so interested in that idea.
Ho wants to get back to his feet but Rage passes into half guard.
Ho is staying active underneath Rage, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ho keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Rage wants to take a breather but Ho is having none of it.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Ho throws a big shot that misses.

Rage fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Ho, pushing him back against the ropes.
Rage has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Ho avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Ho wants to get back to striking at distance but Rage won't allow it.
Rage wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Ho is looking to break free of the clinch but Rage has double underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rage drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rage keeps control of Ho as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Ho wants to break the clinch but can't.
Ho is trying to break the clinch but Rage has him pressed against the ropes.
Ho can't break the clinch.
Ho wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Rage tries to pull guard but Ho won't allow it.

Rage gets control of Ho's arms and successfully pulls guard. Rage will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Rage throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Ho escapes and throws Rage's legs to the side, diving into side control!

Ho decides to stand back up. Ho steps back and let's Rage get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Don Ho dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Rage has closed the distance and engaged Ho in a clinch.
Ho tries to score a body lock takedown but Rage shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Ho wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Rage has him pressed against the ropes.

Ho's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Rage closes the distance and clinches.

Rage breaks from the clinch.
Ho lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rage circles away quickly and effectively.
Ho misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rage.
Ho closes the distance but Rage moves to the side
and Rage counters with a nice body kick.

Rage shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Rage decides to stand up.

Rage forces Ho back against the ropes and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ho has had enough of the clinch but Rage keeps him there for the moment.
Ho wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rage fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Ho is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Ho wants to break the clinch but can't.

Rage manages to break the clinch.
Rage fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Rage closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Rage is keen to just control but Ho is a slippery customer.
Diablo Rage has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ho is looking for a sweep. Rage is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ho has a hand on Rage's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Rage takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Rage looking to control but Ho is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rage manages to capitalize on a mistake by Ho to take his back!
Rage lands a shot to the head.
Ho is trying to get back to his feet but Rage has full control of the position and if anything, Ho has just worked his way into a worse spot.
The referee is taking a good look at Ho as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Rage!
Rage connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Ho to escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ho holding both Rage 's hands and preventing any damage.

Rage looking for the choke from the back.
Rage struggling to keep hold of the position.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Rage looking to hold on to the position here but Ho rolls and ends up regaining guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rage wanted to stand there but Ho had control of the position.
Rage stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ho swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Rage is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rage prevents Ho from getting back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Diablo Rage comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rage has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight for Diablo Rage!
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight for Diablo Rage!
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight for Diablo Rage!

Diablo Rage wins by unanimous decision!