PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Cheng (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Derman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Derman has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Joe Cheng looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Cheng
vs
Derman

180 cm
18
240 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

195 cm
22
236 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Joe Cheng!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mark Derman!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cheng has his takedown stuffed
and Derman counters with a straight right hand.

It looks like Joe Cheng has been cut.
Cheng shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Derman but Derman pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Cheng tries to clinch but Derman moves away
and Derman counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Cheng misses with an attempted mid kick.
Cheng is breathing heavily.
Cheng moves away from the strike by Derman.
Cheng with a lazy takedown attempt

and Derman holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Cheng. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cheng prevents a takedown attempt there.
Derman lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Derman pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Derman looking for a takedown.
A frustrated look appears on Cheng's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cheng is trying to break free.
Cheng tries to circle away but Derman has him pinned against the cage.
Derman goes for a takedown attempt but Cheng pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Cheng could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Derman gets a takedown into half guard.
Cheng wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Derman thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Derman not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Derman drops an elbow to the side of Cheng's head.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Derman connects with a nice short shot to Cheng's temple.
Derman wants to pass the guard but Cheng is defending well.
Derman has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cheng pushes Derman off and gets back to his feet.
Derman closes the distance looking to clinch
and Cheng counters with a body kick that stops Derman in his tracks momentarily.
Derman slaps away a takedown attempt from Cheng, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Derman gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Cheng counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Cheng not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Derman wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Cheng trying to mount his opponent but Derman defends it.
Cheng working over Derman with some ground and pound. Derman looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Derman makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Derman.
Derman managing to control the position.
Cheng might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Derman pushes Cheng off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cheng slaps away a takedown attempt from Derman, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Derman dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Joe Cheng's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Cheng fails with the takedown.
Cheng tries for a takedown but Derman circles away easily

and Derman counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Cheng avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Derman.
Derman sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cheng defending well though.
Derman stops Cheng from getting back to his feet.
Derman is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Cheng scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Derman manages to mount him!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Derman there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Derman throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
A nice elbow there by Derman.
Derman thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Derman scores with a couple of good head shots there.

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.
Derman won't let Cheng get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Cheng trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
Derman thowing shots but they're missing.
Derman landing shots from mount.
Derman thowing shots but they're missing.
Derman with a couple of short strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Derman misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Derman misses with a head shot.
Derman punishing his opponent with strikes.
Cheng's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Derman unloading with bombs!
Derman working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Cheng is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Derman there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Derman throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Derman landing punches.
Cheng avoids a series of strikes thrown by Derman.
Derman with the ground and pound from mount.
Cheng holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Derman 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.

Mark Derman showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joe Cheng's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Cheng shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Derman defends it nicely.
Derman doesn't manage to clinch there - Cheng circles away.
Cheng has his takedown stuffed

and Derman counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Cheng!
Cheng taking shots to the head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cheng blocking the ground and pound.
Derman is landing with some decent strikes but Cheng is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cheng tries to buck Derman off but he can't manage it.
Derman raining down hammerfists from mount.
Mark Derman has got the better of the ground game so far.

Cheng bucks up and throws Derman to the side - he's got back to his feet. Great escape!
Joe Cheng seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cheng wants to clinch

and Derman counters with a takedown into side control.
An elbow from Derman crashes against the mat.
Derman throws an elbow but Cheng slips to the side and avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cheng wants to get back to his feet.
Derman throwing strikes but Cheng manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Derman regains half guard, as Cheng was trying to land strikes.
Derman is pressing down on Cheng's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cheng is in close to Derman's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Cheng has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Derman is proving hard to escape from.
Derman looking to control.
Mark Derman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Derman is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Derman can do anything to dispel that myth.
Cheng throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Derman works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Cheng tries to free his leg and advance position but Derman is retaining full guard.
Cheng throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Derman is adopting a defensive guard.

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.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Mark Derman wasn't active enough on the ground.
Cheng has his takedown stuffed

and Derman counters with a nice double leg into guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Cheng. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Derman showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Derman won't allow Cheng to get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Derman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Derman 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 27:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Derman!