PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ringo Dukes (ranked 4378 p4p, 4884 weight class) and Brandon Waldrup (ranked 425 p4p, 451 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Dukes
vs
Waldrup

192 cm
24
212
0 - 0 - 0

184 cm
23
210
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Very confident

BANZAI COMBAT NUTRITION

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ringo Dukes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Brandon Waldrup!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Kenichi Hosakawa and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dukes shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Waldrup as he jumps to the side.
Dukes misses with a double jab.
Dukes cracks Waldrup with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

Waldrup gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Waldrup jumps guard but Dukes turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Dukes stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Waldrup pulls Dukes into guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Waldrup pulls Dukes in close to his closed guard and prevents Dukes from doing any damage or advancing position.
Dukes won't allow Waldrup to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dukes postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Waldrup is adopting a defensive guard.
Waldrup tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Dukes is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Waldrup managing to control the position.
Dukes wants to control from the top but Waldrup keeps moving.
Waldrup pulls Dukes in close to his closed guard and prevents Dukes from doing any damage or advancing position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

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.

Waldrup darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Dukes wants to improve his position but Waldrup is controlling well.
Waldrup performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Dukes slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Waldrup wants to pass the guard but Dukes is keeping the position.
Waldrup engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Dukes has his foot on Waldrup's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Waldrup works his way back into a safe position though.
Waldrup really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Dukes. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Waldrup is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Waldrup pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Dukes is keeping the position for now.

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.
Dukes 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.

Waldrup got a little sloppy there for a moment and Dukes has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Waldrup has managed to get both his arms back between Dukes's legs - danger averted.
Waldrup has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Dukes is proving hard to escape from.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Waldrup throwing strikes but missing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Waldrup showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Dukes looking to score a takedown here. Waldrup is defending well but Dukes drives through and ends up in Waldrup's guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ringo Dukes will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Dukes swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Waldrup.
Waldrup fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dukes misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Waldrup shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Dukes tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Dukes holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Waldrup wants to stand but his hand is trapped. Dukes uses the opportunity to regain full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Waldrup controls from within his opponent's guard.
Waldrup tries to stand but Dukes is controlling from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Waldrup postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Dukes is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Waldrup, into his guard.

Dukes trying to control the position from guard on top but Waldrup is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dukes connects with a couple of short punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Waldrup keeping moving, preventing Dukes from controlling successfully.
Waldrup has Dukes pulled in close to control his posture.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dukes trying to control but Waldrup is working from the bottom.

Waldrup throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Dukes escapes and throws Waldrup's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Dukes is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Waldrup can do to turn this around?
Waldrup is trying to control Dukes's posture but Dukes avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Waldrup tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Dukes wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Waldrup struggling a bit here.
Waldrup tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Dukes wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Both fighters take a look at the clock.
Waldrup struggling a bit here.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

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.
Dukes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Waldrup moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ringo Dukes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dukes scores with a crisp jab that stopped Waldrup in his tracks.

Waldrup gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Dukes is trying to pull guard but Waldrup has him pressed against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Waldrup prevents the takedown attempt.
Waldrup is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

Waldrup has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Dukes regains guard immediately.

Dukes pushes Waldrup off and scrambles back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ringo Dukes dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Waldrup dives in for a single leg takedown but Dukes sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Dukes thumps Waldrup with a low kick.
Dukes throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Waldrup has closed the distance and engaged Dukes in a clinch.
Dukes looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Waldrup pulls guard effortlessly.

Waldrup has his foot on Dukes's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Dukes works his way back into a safe position though.
Waldrup wants to get back to his feet but Dukes is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dukes preventing the sweep.

Waldrup working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Dukes doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Dukes manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Dukes not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dukes tries to free his leg and advance position but Waldrup is retaining full guard.
Waldrup trying to control the position.
Dukes stands and throws Waldrup's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Waldrup keeps Dukes under control for a moment.
Dukes working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Waldrup is looking for a sweep.
Dukes misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

Dukes is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Waldrup has escaped the position, nice work there.
Waldrup is looking for a sweep.
Dukes wants to control but Waldrup is keeping him busy.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Dukes scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dukes gets caught flat footed, as Waldrup shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Waldrup controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Dukes has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Waldrup can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Waldrup controlling from the top position.
Dukes keeping moving, preventing Waldrup from controlling successfully.
Ringo Dukes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dukes trying to control the position.

Dukes has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Waldrup can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Dukes is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Ringo Dukes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dukes, 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ringo Dukes!