PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Kenny Royal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and PJ Duke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kenny Royal has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Royal
vs
Duke

156 cm
19
142 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
24
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Brown Belt
Great elbows
Very confident

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kenny Royal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, PJ Duke!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, David Schapiro and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Royal drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Duke throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Royal misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Duke is looking to land body kicks.
Duke tries to clinch but Royal moves out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Royal. No joy for Duke on that attempt.
Royal fails with a takedown attempt.
Royal throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Duke's head.
Royal fails to land the takedown.
Duke changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Royal tries to avoid it but Duke manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Royal to the ground. Royal escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Duke tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Duke is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Duke uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Royal.
Duke tries to clinch up but Royal circles away and keeps his distance.
Royal lands a head shot.
Duke gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Royal holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kenny Royal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of PJ Duke.
Royal tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Duke just stands there and leans against the cage.
Duke fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Royal is trying to break the clinch but Duke has him pressed against the cage.
Duke wants to break free but Royal has control.
Royal lands a nice knee to the body.
Duke jumps guard but Royal stands there with Duke around his waist. Duke gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Royal tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Royal is trying to trip Duke. He has hold of a leg but Duke is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Royal persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Royal is breathing heavily.
Duke keeping full guard, as Royal tries to pass.
Royal trying to control but Duke is working from the bottom.
Duke throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Duke working a defensive guard here.
Royal could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Royal throwing strikes from guard but Duke blocks nicely.
Duke trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duke wants to sweep but no luck.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Duke stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Duke wants it to stay on the feet.
Royal shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Duke as he avoids it easily.
Duke shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Royal sprawls well. Royal wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Duke gets slowly back to his feet.
Duke darts in trying to clinch

and Royal counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Duke!
Royal knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Duke on the ground.
Duke has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Royal's lack of action.

Duke is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Royal pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Duke looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Duke wants to get back to his feet.
Royal slows the pace down in half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Royal is trying to control. Duke wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kenny Royal dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Duke closes the distance and clinches up with Royal, looking for a takedown. Duke pushes Royal against the cage but Royal circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A clash of legs there as Royal blocks the low kick.
Duke shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Royal pinned against the cage. Royal gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Royal misses with a takedown attempt - Duke sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Royal gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Royal missing with knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Duke can't get the takedown.
Kenny Royal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of PJ Duke.
Royal fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Royal slows down the pace here.
Duke prevents the takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on Duke's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Duke is trying to break the clinch but Royal is controlling him.
Duke drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Royal gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Duke looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Royal jumps guard and drags Duke to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Duke trying to control but Royal is working from the bottom.

Royal looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Duke passes into side control.
Royal throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.

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.
Royal struggling a bit here.
Duke gets to mount! Royal was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Royal working to try and regain half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duke avoids the attempt from Royal to control.
Duke trying to control but Royal is having none of it.

Duke looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Royal is desperately trying to improve his position but Duke has a good base and remains in mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Poor strikes thrown by Duke there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Royal wants to hold on but Duke pushes him away.

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.
Royal is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Royal throwing hammer fists to the chest of Duke. What's that going to do exactly?
Duke throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Royal because Duke loaded up on that one.
Royal in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Royal tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Royal is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Duke blocks Royal's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Duke can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Royal is looking to escape.
Royal holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Duke tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

PJ Duke showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Duke with a poor takedown

and Royal counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Royal.
Royal is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Royal lands a body shot.
Duke goes for a takedown in the clinch but Royal prevents it.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Royal obliges.
A shot in the inside from Royal.

Royal successfully pulls guard.
Duke throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Royal works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Royal has his hands on Duke's head, controlling the position.
Royal is looking to stand back up but Duke counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Royal.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Royal is staying active underneath Duke, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Royal wants to get back to full guard.
Duke wants to lay and pray for a moment but Royal keeps working.
Royal is looking to improve his position.

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.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Royal throws a right and a left that Duke avoids nicely.
Duke shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Royal sprawls well. Royal wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Duke gets slowly back to his feet.
Kenny Royal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of PJ Duke.
Duke tries to close the distance and clinch but Royal swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Duke scores with a three punch combo!
Duke tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Royal moves into the clinch.
Duke fails to pull guard.

Royal pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Royal shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Duke sprawls well. Duke wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Royal gets slowly back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Royal keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Royal shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Duke avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Royal wants to get up but he can't break Duke's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Duke looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Royal trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Royal lands a couple of elbows.
Royal pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Duke is keeping the position for now.

Duke is working an open guard so Royal takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
A shot to de liver by Duke. Beautiful body shot.
Royal lands with a kick to the ribs.
Royal keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Royal with a poor takedown
and Duke connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Royal fails in his attempt to clinch.
Duke throws a combination that misses

and Royal counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Duke is trying to stand back up but Royal is controlling him

And that's the end of the fight!
Kenny Royal showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Royal has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 29:28
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kenny Royal!