PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Vatali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jack Withrow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Vatali
vs
Withrow

188 cm
25
210 lbs
17 - 4 - 0

185 cm
23
195 lbs
11 - 5 - 1

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Powerful

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 17 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joe Vatali!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Jack Withrow!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Vatali shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Withrow manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vatali trying to control but Withrow is working from the bottom.
Withrow looking for a sweep. Not yet Withrow, not yet.
Withrow is trying to keep Vatali in close.
Vatali preventing the sweep.
Withrow looking to control.
Vatali stands and throws Withrow's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Withrow is looking for a sweep.
Vatali staying calm.
Vatali throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Withrow works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Withrow regains full guard. Nicely done.
Vatali loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Vatali postures up in Withrow's guard and throws a big left but Withrow blocks it.
Vatali missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Vatali forces his way into half guard.
Vatali slips a nice elbow through Withrow's hands, connecting with Withrow's forehead.
Withrow is holding on to half guard well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatali is looking to stall here but Withrow recovers full guard.
Vatali trying to control but Withrow is working from the bottom.
Withrow avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Withrow being controlled here, momentarily.
Vatali throwing strikes but missing.
Withrow keeping moving, preventing Vatali from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Withrow working a defensive guard here.
Vatali stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Withrow swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Vatali wants to control from the top but Withrow keeps moving.
Withrow controls Vatali momentarily but Vatali frees himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Withrow throws a head kick that misses
and Vatali counters with a nice leg kick.
Joe Vatali seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Withrow tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Vatali tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Withrow counters with an inside leg kick.
Vatali takes a swing at Withrow's ribcage but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Withrow misses with a double jab.
Withrow throws a head kick that misses.
Vatali misses with a takedown attempt - Withrow sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Withrow on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Jack Withrow is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Withrow bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Vatali shoots and misses
and Withrow counters with a straight right hand.
Vatali shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Withrow sprawls well. Withrow wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Vatali gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Vatali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Withrow looks to land a body kick but Vatali moved away.
Withrow scores with a three punch combo!

It looks like Joe Vatali has been cut.
Withrow slaps away a takedown attempt from Vatali, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Sloppy strikes from Withrow. Those never looked like landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jack Withrow will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Withrow throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Vatali.
Vatali tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Withrow swivels and escapes.
Vatali closes the distance and clinches up with Withrow, looking for a takedown. Vatali pushes Withrow against the cage but Withrow circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Vatali connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Withrow misses with a two punch combination.
Jack Withrow is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Withrow avoids the body shot from Vatali.
Vatali moves out of range of the leg kick from Withrow.
Vatali throws a body kick the misses
and Withrow counters with a nice low kick that buckles Vatali's knee momentarily.
Vatali throws a quick inside leg kick.
Vatali has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Vatali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Withrow scores with a nice right hand.
Withrow scores with a jab to the jaw.
Nice body punch from Vatali.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatali throws a poor cross that misses
and Withrow counters with a stiff right hand.
Withrow throws a lazy head kick

and Vatali counters with a takedown into side control.
Vatali trying to control the action but Withrow is working from the bottom.
Withrow parries the strikes from Vatali easily there. Vatali is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Withrow to escape.
Vatali taking a break here but Withrow is having none of it and regains half guard.
Withrow keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Vatali not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Vatali passes to side control.
Vatali with the ground and pound but Withrow regains half guard under the barage of strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatali not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Vatali sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Withrow defending well though.
Withrow is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Vatali's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Vatali's back!
Withrow has the hooks in. Vatali is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.

Withrow is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Vatali defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Withrow throwing wild punches that miss their target.

Withrow is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Withrow trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Vatali doesn't escape.
Vatali tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Vatali is squirming around, avoiding Withrow's attempts to control the action.
Vatali tries to lock up and control but Withrow gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Vatali is squirming around, avoiding Withrow's attempts to control the action.
Withrow wants to take his opponent's back but Vatali doesn't allow it.

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.
Vatali is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

Withrow moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Vatali has worked his arm free - good work by Vatali!
Vatali taking punishment in the form of punches.
Withrow controls the position.
Vatali has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Withrow working away.
Vatali manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Vatali won't allow Withrow to pass to mount.
The fighters are battling for position here. Vatali manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jack Withrow will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Vatali smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
A big left from Vatali misses.
Withrow throws a combination that misses
and Vatali cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Vatali shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Withrow sprawls well. Withrow wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Vatali gets slowly back to his feet.
Vatali swings widly with a right hand
and Withrow counters with a leg kick.
Vatali does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Withrow defending well as Vatali loads up on a big left hand.
Withrow connects with a leg kick. Vatali looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

Withrow gets tackled into the cage by Vatali. Vatali maintains the clinch.
Withrow is trying to force a seperation but Vatali has the dominant position.
Withrow is trying to break free.
Withrow blocks an uppercut.
Vatali misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Withrow.
Come on Vatali - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatali misses with a knee strike.
Vatali unloads a knee to the mid-section. Withrow lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Withrow blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Vatali stalling the fight.
Withrow wants to break free but Vatali has control.
Vatali is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Vatali missing with knees to the body.
Vatali misses with a punch to the body.
Vatali lands a good knee to the midsection. Withrow won't want to take too many of those.
Knees in the clinch landing for Vatali.
Withrow is trying to break the clinch but Vatali is controlling him.
Vatali tries to land knees in the clinch but Withrow avoids the damage to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Withrow has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Vatali keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Withrow's efforts to push away.
Vatali with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Vatali is struggling to control the position.
Withrow has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Vatali lands a knee to the head.
Withrow working hard to break the clinch.
Vatali misses with a body punch.
Vatali is working Withrow over against the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Vatali.
Vatali keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Withrow's efforts to push away.
Vatali lands a nice shot to the body.
Withrow takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatali tries a knee to the head but Withrow blocks it.
A left hand lands to the body for Vatali.
A frustrated look appears on Withrow's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Vatali wants a takedown but no success here.
Vatali tries to land knees in the clinch but Withrow avoids the damage to the body.
Withrow avoiding damage as Vatali throws knees to the body.
Withrow managing to block the knees to the body from Vatali.
Vatali lands a good knee to the midsection. Withrow won't want to take too many of those.
Vatali works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Withrow is trying to force a seperation but Vatali has the dominant position.
Vatali trying to land knees to the body.
Withrow is trying to stall.
Vatali prevents Withrow from breaking the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Withrow managing to block the knees to the body from Vatali.
Vatali misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Withrow.
Vatali goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Vatali landing knees to the head.
Withrow prevents a body shot from Vatali.
Vatali looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Vatali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vatali missing with knees to the body.
Vatali has Withrow pressed against the cage, preventing Withrow from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Vatali tries to work over Withrow's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Vatali keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Withrow's efforts to push away.

Vatali jumps guard and drags Withrow to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Withrow preventing the sweep.
Vatali keeping moving, preventing Withrow from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Vatali clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Vatali checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Vatali throws a leg kick
and Withrow counters with a thumping low kick.
Withrow feints a jab promting Vatali to slip. Withrow then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Vatali slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Withrow moves away from the strike by Vatali.
Vatali misses with an uppercut
letting Withrow counter with a right hand.
Withrow tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Withrow closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Vatali avoids the head kick by Withrow.
Withrow tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Vatali moves in looking to clinch but Withrow pushes him off.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Vatali.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatali misses with a shot to the body
and Withrow cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Withrow keeps the fight on the outside.
Withrow thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Vatali if he has to take too many more of those.
Withrow fails to land with a series of punches.
Withrow throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Vatali.
Vatali has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Withrow.
Withrow throws a head kick but Vatali moves out of range.
Vatali with a lazy takedown attempt
and Withrow counters with a low kick, right behind Vatali 's knee.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Vatali misses the shot to the body.
Vatali misses with a hook to the body
and Withrow counters with a stiff right hand.
Withrow delivers a nice body kick.
Crunch! Withrow slams his shin into Vatali's torso.
Withrow throws a head kick but Vatali moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatali throws a combination that misses
and Withrow counters with a one-two to the body.
Vatali takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Withrow misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Withrow lands with a kick to the temple. Vatali shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vatali swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Withrow throws a series of punches but Vatali moves out of range.
Withrow stalks Vatali and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Vatali's face. Vatali staggers backwards, shaken.
Withrow tries to bum rush Vatali with a series of wild strikes but Vatali uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
An inside leg kick from Withrow misses.
Jack Withrow seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Vatali tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Withrow scores with a head kick. Vatali tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Withrow is looking to land body kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Withrow takes one to the chin there.
Withrow misses with a hook.
Withrow will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Vatali defending well as Withrow loads up on a big left hand.

Vatali moves into the clinch.
Withrow is trying to force a seperation but Vatali has the dominant position.
Vatali crunches a lovely knee into Withrow's ribcage.
Vatali trying to land knees to the body.
Vatali cracks Withrow with a nice body shot.
Vatali lands a body shot.
Vatali utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Vatali lands a shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vatali is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Withrow is defending well for now.
Vatali tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Vatali. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Withrow managing to block the knees to the body from Vatali.
Withrow blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Vatali misses with a hook to the ribs.
Withrow wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Withrow on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Vatali gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Withrow regains guard.
Vatali not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vatali tries to free his leg and advance position but Withrow is retaining full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jack Withrow dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Joe Vatali's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Vatali blocks a head kick by Withrow.
Withrow misses with a head kick.
Withrow throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Withrow connects with a good right hand that stumbles Vatali. Vatali circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Withrow throws a right and a left that Vatali avoids nicely.
Withrow misses with a wild body shot.
Withrow throws a series of punches but Vatali avoids them all with ease.
Vatali moves out of range of the body kick from Withrow.
Vatali connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head kick misses from Withrow.
Vatali scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Withrow doesn't seem bothered though.
Withrow swats away the attempt to clinch by Vatali.
Vatali throws a series of punches but Withrow moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Withrow avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Withrow throws a right and a left that Vatali avoids nicely.
Vatali misses with a body shot.
A leg kick checked by Vatali.
Nice sprawl there from Withrow as Vatali shoots in.
Vatali tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Withrow manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Withrow lands with a nice combination. Vatali backs away looking to recover.
Withrow moves away from the strike by Vatali.
Withrow fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Vatali.
Withrow misses with a combination
and Vatali counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Withrow throws a right hand that Vatali ducks under and follows up with a left that Vatali also avoids with ease.
Withrow pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Vatali slips under a jab from Withrow.
Withrow throws a sloppy head kick

and Vatali counters with a takedown into side control.
Withrow is working to avoid the ground and pound but Vatali connects with a decent elbow.
Vatali is working Withrow over with some ground and pound from side control.
Withrow is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Vatali is looking to take a break and control but Withrow is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Withrow struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ground and pound from Vatali seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Vatali working the ground and pound.
Withrow is not content to let Vatali control the position.
Vatali sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Withrow is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Withrow prevents Vatali from improving position.
Vatali working away.
Joe Vatali has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Vatali is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Withrow knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Withrow is not content to let Vatali control the position.
Vatali working away.
Jack Withrow is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Vatali working the ground and pound but Withrow is defending the strikes.
Vatali misses with the ground and pound.
Withrow is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Vatali showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Withrow has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 47:48
Judge Suge Night scores the fight 47:48
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Jack Withrow!
Jack Withrow is the new light heavyweight champion!