PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Damian Dudley (ranked 1504 p4p, 3515 weight class) and Zenzo Rai (ranked 199 p4p, 436 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Dudley
vs
Rai

183 cm
40
178
22 - 19 - 0

183 cm
33
180
9 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Vegan Gains

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 22 - 19 - 0, fighting out of New York, Damian Dudley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Zenzo Rai!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and Percy O'Donnell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rai will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rai tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dudley paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dudley is looking to counter punch.
Rai fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Dudley was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Dudley defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rai.
Damian Dudley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zenzo Rai.
Dudley looks to throw the jab but Rai is out of range.
Rai lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Rai takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Rai shoots and misses
and Dudley counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Rai scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.

Dudley forces Rai back against the cage and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dudley is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Rai tries to score a body lock takedown but Dudley shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Rai's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Dudley keeps control of Rai as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Dudley working aggressively here.
Dudley lands a left hand that snaps the head of Rai backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dudley creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Rai's defenses.
Rai is trying to break the clinch but Dudley has him pressed against the cage.
Dudley lands an elbow that stopped Rai in his tracks for a moment.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Dudley creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Dudley lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rai backwards.
Dudley tries to throw a body punch but Rai avoids it by throwing Dudley back against the cage.
We've been hearing reports that Dudley has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.

Rai successfully pulls guard.
Dudley sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Rai looking to control.
Dudley stays in close to Rai's body and controls the position.
Dudley postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dudley is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Rai is looking to stand up but Dudley isn't so interested in that idea.
Rai is pulling down on Dudley's head to control his posture.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Dudley stays in close to Rai's body and controls the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Zenzo Rai seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dudley moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Damian Dudley is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Rai.
Rai shoots in for a takedown but Dudley shows good takedown defense.
Dudley throws an off balance right hand

and Rai counters by clinching up.
Dudley lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Dudley misses with a punch to the body.
Dudley misses with the head strike.

Rai is trying to trip Dudley. He has hold of a leg but Dudley is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Rai persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Rai won't allow Dudley to sweep him here.
Rai controls from within his opponent's guard.
Dudley is adopting a defensive guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rai stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dudley swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Rai wants to control from the top but Dudley keeps moving.
Rai preventing the sweep.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rai is fighting to break Dudley's control of his arms but Dudley is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Dudley displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rai.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Damian Dudley 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.

The fighters circling - Dudley throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A good leg kick by Rai.
Rai wants to clinch
and Dudley counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rai ducks under a wild hook from Dudley.
Rai tries to clinch up but Dudley circles away and keeps his distance.
As Rai tries to get set, Dudley tries to push him back and clinch up but Rai manages to avoid the attempt.
Dudley tests Rai's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Rai has his takedown stuffed
and Dudley counters with a straight right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rai lands a right hook to the body.
Rai fails to land with a series of punches.
Dudley looks to throw the jab but Rai is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dudley lands a head shot.
Damian Dudley is winning the standup battle so far.
Rai shoots and misses
and Dudley cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rai fails with a takedown attempt.
Damian Dudley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zenzo Rai.
Good shot there by Rai.
Rai wants to clinch
and Dudley counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Dudley stuffs the takedown attempt from Rai. Rai gets slowly back to his feet.
Rai tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Dudley counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rai thinking.
Rai looks to land a combination but Dudley avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dudley shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Rai eats them both and turns towards Dudley to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Dudley takes a swing at Rai's ribcage but misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dudley misses with a body shot.
Dudley lands a slapping body shot.
Rai ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dudley moves away.
Zenzo Rai is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Dudley swinging wildly here.
Dudley is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rai.
Rai wants to clinch up but Dudley keeps it at a distance.
Dudley tests Rai's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Rai shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Dudley pinned against the cage. Dudley gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rai with a poor takedown
and Dudley cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rai gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Dudley counters with a stiff right hand.
Rai misses with a takedown attempt
and Dudley counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Good shot there by Dudley.
Rai shoots in but no luck this time.
Dudley was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Dudley ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Dudley bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
The fighters circling - Dudley throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rai tries for a takedown but Dudley circles away easily
and Dudley counters with a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dudley digs a good hook to Rai's body.
Rai goes for a double leg but Dudley avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Dudley continues to drive forward.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Dudley fails to land with a series of punches.
Dudley throws a shot to the body.
Rai goes for a double leg but Dudley avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Dudley continues to drive forward.
Dudley tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Rai manages to circle out of the way.
Dudley is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rai can do to turn this around?
Dudley dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Rai throws a left and a right that both miss
letting Dudley counter with a right hand.
Nice body punch from Dudley.
Rai ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

Dudley has closed the distance and engaged Rai in a clinch.
Dudley has a couple of punches blocked by Rai.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Damian Dudley dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Rai with a lazy takedown attempt
enabling Dudley to counter with a crisp jab.
Rai throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Dudley stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Rai fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A lazy left from Rai finds it's target.
Rai is trying hard to land a takedown here. Dudley sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Damian Dudley has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zenzo Rai.
Rai shoots and misses

and Dudley moves into the clinch.
Rai drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Dudley gets the underhooks and prevents it.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Dudley.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dudley tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Rai takes an elbow to the forehead.
A right hand to the body from Rai.

Dudley manages to break the clinch.
Dudley throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Rai is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rai has taken the fight to the clinch.
Rai drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Dudley gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Rai is trying to pull guard but Dudley has him pressed against the cage.
Rai takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Dudley working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A right hand to the body from Dudley.
Dudley tries to work over Rai's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Dudley misses with an elbow strike.
Dudley gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Dudley creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Rai's defenses.
Dudley lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

Dudley breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Rai shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

Dudley manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Damian Dudley is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rai doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Dudley counters with a right hand to the body.
Dudley connects with a right hand. Rai shakes it off.
Rai with a poor takedown
and Dudley cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Dudley lands a right hook to the body.
A shot to the liver by Dudley. Beautiful body shot.

Dudley has Rai up against the cage in a clinch.
Rai tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Dudley just stands there and leans against the cage.
Rai tries to break free but Dudley pushes him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dudley comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Rai wants to get back to striking at distance but Dudley won't allow it.
Rai fails to pull guard.
Dudley misses with a punch on the inside.
Zenzo Rai has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rai is looking to take this one to the mat.
A nice right hand lands inside from Dudley.
Dudley lands a body shot in the clinch.
Rai wants a takedown but no success here.
Dudley misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Damian Dudley has scored more points in the clinch so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rai jumps guard but Dudley stands there with Rai around his waist. Rai gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Rai tries to pull guard but Dudley holds him up against the cage and eventually Rai drops back down to his feet.
Rai wants to take the fight to the mat but Dudley manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Rai is working for takedown but Dudley is calmly controlling the position for now.
Dudley blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Rai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rai wants to take the fight to the mat but Dudley manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Damian Dudley showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dudley, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damian Dudley!
Damian Dudley made sure to mention his sponsor, Vegan Gains in his post fight interview.