PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Vrajesh Ponnaganti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ernie Whit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). On his way into the cage it seems that Vrajesh Ponnaganti has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Vrajesh Ponnaganti seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Ponnaganti
vs
Whit

171 cm
25
156 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

160 cm
26
159 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Vrajesh Ponnaganti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ernie Whit!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Chad Campbell and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Whit scores with a sloppy right hand. Ponnaganti should have avoided that one.
Whit scores with a jab.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Whit throws out a loose jab but Ponnaganti uses good head movement to avoid it.
Whit throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Ponnaganti tries to clinch there but Whit circles away.
Whit circles away from the clinch attempt.

Whit shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Whit thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Ponnaganti is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Whit lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ponnaganti hang on?
Whit is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Ponnaganti wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whit fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ponnaganti trying desperately to get to his feet.
Ponnaganti is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Whit punching from mount but Ponnaganti doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Whit with a couple of short strikes.
Ponnaganti wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Whit.
Whit scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Ponnaganti?
Whit scores with a couple of good head shots there.
BOOM! Whit connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Whit controlling the position easily from mount.
Whit looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whit landing shots from mount.
Whit unloads with some shots from mount but Ponnaganti bucks and avoids them well.
Ponnaganti is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Whit with a couple of short strikes.
Whit lands with some strikes.
A nice elbow there by Whit.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ponnaganti is trying to stand.
Ponnaganti is breathing heavily.
Whit lands a heavy elbow.
Whit lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ponnaganti hang on?
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Whit cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Whit lands a heavy elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whit is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Ponnaganti can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Whit is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Ponnaganti can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Ponnaganti is rocked!
Whit connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Oh Ponnaganti is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Whit dominating with strikes here.
Ponnaganti wants to get back to his feet.
Ponnaganti seems to have got his legs back now.
Whit landing strikes from the mount.
Whit looking to finish Ponnaganti with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ponnaganti!
Ponnaganti is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Ponnaganti takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Ponnaganti is in a horrible position here. Whit smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whit putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Ponnaganti in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Whit scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Ponnaganti trying desperately to get to his feet.
Whit breaks from Ponnaganti's wrist control and lands an elbow.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whit landing strikes from the mount and Ponnaganti is in trouble!
The referee warns Ponnaganti that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Ponnaganti tries to buck Whit off but he can't manage it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Whit lands a heavy elbow.
Whit is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Ponnaganti can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Whit raining down shots from the mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ernie Whit dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Ponnaganti gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Whit lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Whit working some strikes from top position.
Whit trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Whit seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Whit throwing strikes but missing.
Whit wants to pass the guard but Ponnaganti is keeping the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Whit accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Whit is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whit stops Ponnaganti from standing up.
Whit thows a big elbow that misses.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Whit darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Ponnaganti regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Whit.
Ernie Whit has got the better of the ground game so far.
Whit is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Whit with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whit missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Whit throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Whit has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Whit is looking to work some ground and pound but Ponnaganti has wrist control.

Ponnaganti pushes Whit off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Whit missing with a left hand there. Ponnaganti was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

Whit closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Ponnaganti did well to prevent Whit getting side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Whit stops Ponnaganti from getting back to his feet.
Whit winds up and cracks Ponnaganti with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ponnaganti on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ponnaganti is trying to stand up here but Whit is controlling him well.
Whit scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Whit lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ponnaganti wants to get back to his feet.
Whit working Ponnaganti over with strikes.
Whit takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Ponnaganti wants to get back to his feet.
Ponnaganti blocking the ground and pound attempt from Whit.
Whit working Ponnaganti over with strikes.
Whit is controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Whit stops Ponnaganti from getting back to his feet.
Whit takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Whit thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Ponnaganti to regain full guard.
Ponnaganti is looking to stand up but Whit isn't so interested in that idea.
Whit lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ponnaganti has momentary wrist control but Whit slips an elbow through the middle.
Whit forces his way into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ernie Whit showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Whit throws out a powerful jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ponnaganti looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Good exchange - Whit coming out on top.
Ponnaganti on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Whit throws a jab when Ponnaganti was well out of range.
Ernie Whit seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Whit throws a looping overhand right but Ponnaganti ducks down to avoid it.

Whit has managed to clinch.
Whit is working Ponnaganti over against the cage.
Ponnaganti throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Whit blocks it with crossed arms.
Whit blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Whit tries for a takedown but Ponnaganti manages to get underhooks.
Whit looking to slow down the pace here.
Whit lands with a right to the head.
Ponnaganti pushes off an throws an elbow but Whit leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Ponnaganti blocks a body shot from Whit.
Ponnaganti lands an elbow inside.
Whit takes a knee right on the jaw!
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Ponnaganti obliges.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ponnaganti's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Whit is trying to drag Ponnaganti to the mat but Ponnaganti just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Whit drops down looking for an ankle pick but Ponnaganti pulls his leg out and moves away.
Vrajesh Ponnaganti has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ernie Whit.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whit lands with an uppercut that bounces Ponnaganti off the cage and back into rage.
Whit circles away from the clinch attempt

and Whit counters with a single leg into guard. Ponnaganti didn't expect that.
Ponnaganti is looking to stand up but Whit isn't so interested in that idea.
Whit thows a big elbow that misses.
Whit pushes down on Ponnaganti's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Whit working the head and body with strikes.
Ponnaganti tries to kick Whit off but Whit keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whit throwing shots but Ponnaganti is blocking nicely.
Whit lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ponnaganti wants to get back to his feet.
Whit working over Ponnaganti with some ground and pound. Ponnaganti looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ponnaganti taking some punishment here, with Whit in his half guard.
Whit sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ponnaganti defending well though.
Ponnaganti is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Whit scores with a couple of nice shots.
Ponnaganti looks like he's trying to stand up.
Whit working Ponnaganti over with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whit looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Ponnaganti is looking to escape.
Whit winds up and cracks Ponnaganti with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ernie Whit is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Whit thows a huge punch but Ponnaganti dodges it nicely.
Whit content to control rather than advance.

That's four 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.
Whit wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ponnaganti keeps working.
Ponnaganti is trying to stand back up but Whit is controlling him
Whit trying to control the pace.
Whit's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Vrajesh Ponnaganti has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Whit working Ponnaganti over with strikes.
Whit prevents Ponnaganti from standing back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ernie Whit comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Whit has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight for Ernie Whit!
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight for Ernie Whit!
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight for Ernie Whit!

Ernie Whit wins by unanimous decision!