PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Elwyn Donal (ranked 385 p4p, 874 weight class) and Excalam Black (ranked 56 p4p, 131 weight class). Black has chosen Signe de contradiction as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Donal
vs
Black

190 cm
23
210
9 - 2 - 1

178 cm
24
200
7 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Shadow Realm Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Elwyn Donal!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Excalam Black!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Jorge Garcia and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Donal fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Black manages to avoid it.
A low kick from Donal misses

so Black counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Black stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Donal swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Donal will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Donal tries to land a sweep but no joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Donal has Black pulled in close to control his posture.

Black has gone for a leg lock! Donal slips out almost immediately though and dives into Black's guard.

Black is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Black throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Black looking for a guillotine here but Donal defends easily.

Black looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Donal passes into side control.

That's two 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.
Black is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Black gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Black wants to improve his position but Donal is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black works his way to full guard. Good work.

Black looking for subs off his back but Donal has passed one foot through into half guard.
Black slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Donal stopping the sweep attempt from Black.
Donal is stalling in the full guard.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Black looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Donal has picked Black up and slammed him! Black can't keep hold of the triangle and Donal manages to pass to side control!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Black manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Donal is thwarting Black's attempts to control the position.
Donal controlling the action here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Black tries to roll over but Donal keeps him under control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Excalam Black will probably get the nod.
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.

Good leg kick by Donal.
Donal throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

so Black counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Donal is pulling down on Black's head. It's preventing any offense from Black, at least for the moment.
Black wants to pass the guard but Donal is keeping the position.
Black throws a strike but Donal rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Black throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Black wants to sweep but no luck.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Black has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Donal can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Black is looking for a triangle but Donal pushes his legs off easily.
Our spies down at at Glory 4 Boxing inform us that Black has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Black can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Donal controls the pace.

Black looking for subs off his back but Donal has passed one foot through into half guard.
Donal slows the pace down in half guard.

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.
Black is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Donal's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Donal's back!
Black throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Donal wriggles onto his back under a barage of strikes.
Donal tries to hold on but Black postures up.
Black breaks from Donal's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donal really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Black throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Black with the ground and pound from mount.
Black can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Donal is looking to escape.
Black wants to control but instead Donal manages to regain half guard.
Black working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Donal's thigh. Donal counters though and makes it back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Black tries to free his leg and advance position but Donal is retaining full guard.
Black stands and throws Donal's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Black in side control, throwing shots but Donal defends.
Donal is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Black is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Donal is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Black wants to control but Donal is keeping him busy.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Excalam Black showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Black misses with a wild body shot.
Elwyn Donal seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Black slips a straight right by Donal.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Black! But no joy.
Black displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Donal throws out the jab.
A jab from Donal misses.
Donal misses the jab.
Black has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Black displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Donal throws out the jab.
We've been told by Donal's head coaches at League of Shadows MMA that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Donal fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Black is out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Donal misses with an uppercut.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Black.
Donal looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Donal throws a low kick but Black moves out of range easily.
Black drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Donal defends it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black misses with a shot to the body
letting Donal counter with a right hand.

It looks like Excalam Black has been cut.
Donal rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Black counters with a shoot takedown. Donal fights it but they end up in guard.
Black throws a big elbow that misses.
Black looking to pass the guard.
Donal keeping moving, preventing Black from controlling successfully.
Donal wants to control but Black passes easily into half guard.

Black looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Black wants to control but Donal is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Donal won't allow Black to pass to mount.

Black is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Donal has managed to free his arm - good work.
Black sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Donal defending well though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donal blocking the ground and pound attempt from Black.
Black scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Black thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Donal keeping hold of Black's head, controlling as best he can.
Black trying to mount his opponent but Donal defends it.
Black seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Black is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Donal is just riding it out for now. Black eventually gives up the hold.
Black not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black works his foot free and advances to mount.
Donal is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Black throwing strikes but Donal bucks up and reverses the position. He's now in guard on top.
Black manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Donal manages to get himself to full guard.

Donal is trying to keep Black in close.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Excalam Black really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Excalam Black's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Black ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Donal moves away.
Donal throws a poor cross that misses

so Black counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Black has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Donal keeping moving, preventing Black from controlling successfully.
Black throws a strike but Donal rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Donal avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Donal got a little sloppy there for a moment and Black has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Donal has managed to get both his arms back between Black's legs - danger averted.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Black isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Donal stacks Black on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Donal!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Black wants to control but Donal postures up.
Black tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Donal wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Black is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donal trying to control the position but Black is working away.
Black is trying to improve his position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Black keeps trying to improve his position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Donal throws a leg kick

and Black counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Black throwing strikes from guard but Donal blocks nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black throws an elbow that misses. Donal uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Black's guard. Nice move by Donal!

Black manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Donal manages to get himself to full guard.

Black throwing strikes but missing.
Black trying to control but Donal is working from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Black looking to pass the guard.
Donal is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Excalam Black will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Excalam Black's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Black throws a body shot but no joy.
Donal takes a swing at Black's ribcage but misses.
Black has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Donal.
Donal swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Black.
Black blocks a head kick by Donal.
Donal misses with a straight right.
Black takes one on the chin but seems OK.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Donal throws a quick inside leg kick.
Black lands with an uppercut that bounces Donal off the cage and back into range.
Black throws a looping overhand right but Donal ducks down to avoid it.
Donal swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black checks a leg kick.
Black drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Donal defends it well.
Donal connects with a body shot.
Black swings for the body but Donal moves out of range.
Donal swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Black misses the shot to the body.
Donal 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.

Black is rocked!
Black is holding his hands too far apart here. Donal throws a hard, straight punch right down the pipe and BOOM! Black is out! That punch landed square on the jaw - what a shot!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:41 of round 5, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Elwyn Donal!
Elwyn Donal retains his light heavyweight title!
Elwyn Donal was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.