PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Zo Dupont (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matt Sliva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 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.

Dupont
vs
Sliva

165 cm
25
134 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

167 cm
19
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Zo Dupont!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Matt Sliva!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sliva throws a left and a right that both miss
and Dupont counters with a good, hard body kick but Sliva shrugs it off.
Sliva throws a left and a right that both miss

and Dupont counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Dupont throws a knee to the head but misses.
Dupont tries to break the clinch but Sliva is controlling the position.

Dupont pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sliva misses with a double jab
and Dupont counters with a head kick.
Sliva on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Sliva shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Dupont pinned against the cage. Dupont gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Sliva has Dupont up against the cage in a clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Dupont's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Sliva looking for a takedown.

Dupont manages to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sliva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dupont counters with a head kick. That will keep Sliva thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Dupont is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Sliva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Sliva throws a lazy head kick
and Dupont counters with a series of strikes. Sliva will be more careful next time no doubt.
Sliva lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Dupont backs up against the cage.
Sliva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dupont counters with a body kick.
Dupont throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sliva fails with the takedown

and Dupont counters by moving into the clinch.
Zo Dupont has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Sliva.

Dupont breaks the clinch.
Dupont scores with a head kick. Sliva tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Sliva circles away from the clinch attempt
and Sliva counters with a three punch combo that has Dupont backing up. Dupont nods at Sliva to acknowledge the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dupont throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sliva circles away from the clinch attempt

and Sliva counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Dupont pushes Sliva off looking to stand but Sliva dives back in and keeps control.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Dupont is trying to get back to full guard.
Sliva throwing shots but Dupont is blocking nicely.
Dupont is trying to stand.
Dupont controlling the position for now.
Sliva scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dupont wants to control but Sliva is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Sliva sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Dupont defending well though.
Sliva wants to pass to mount but Dupont is defending the position.
Dupont is refusing to be controlled, as Sliva sits in half guard.
Dupont wants to get back to full guard.
Dupont makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Dupont.
Dupont is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Dupont is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Dupont takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Dupont uses his free foot to push down on Sliva's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Sliva.
Sliva is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sliva is squirming around, avoiding Dupont's attempts to control the action.
Sliva wants to hold on but Dupont pushes him away.
Sliva looks gassed!
Sliva is wriggling around trying to escape.
Dupont takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Sliva is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Dupont controlling the pace for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Zo Dupont will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Dupont pushes Sliva up against the cage in a clinch.
Dupont wants to get back to striking at distance but Sliva won't allow it.
Sliva avoiding damage as Dupont throws knees to the body.
Sliva has Dupont pressed against the cage, preventing Dupont from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Sliva jumps guard and drags Dupont to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Dupont showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Dupont wants to control from the top but Sliva keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sliva is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Dupont trying to control but Sliva is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Zo Dupont wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Dupont lands with a kick to the temple. Sliva shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Sliva throws a sloppy head kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Sliva throws a sloppy head kick
and Dupont counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Sliva throws a right and a left that Dupont avoids nicely.
Sliva takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Dupont gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dupont keeping moving, preventing Sliva from controlling successfully.
Sliva is breathing heavily.
Sliva in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sliva won't allow Dupont to sweep him here.
Sliva stays in close to Dupont's body and controls the position.
Dupont trying to keep a closed guard but Sliva is proving a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Zo Dupont.

Dupont moves into the clinch.
Sliva keeps control of Dupont as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Dupont tries to break free but Sliva pushes him back against the cage.
Dupont lands a shot to the body.
Dupont is pressed up against the cage. Sliva has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Dupont down to the mat. Dupont avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Sliva will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Sliva has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Dupont.
Matt Sliva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sliva moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Sliva stalks Dupont and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Dupont's face. Dupont staggers backwards, shaken.
Dupont is looking to clinch.
Zo Dupont is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dupont doesn't manage to clinch there - Sliva circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sliva shoots for a double leg takedown but Dupont sprawls well. He's pushed Sliva's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Zo Dupont has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Sliva.
Dupont throws a nice outside leg kick.
Sliva misses with a hook
and Dupont counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Sliva is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Nice takedown defense from Dupont. No joy for Sliva on that attempt.
Sliva takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

Dupont closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Dupont wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sliva prevents Dupont from breaking the clinch.

Dupont manages to break the clinch.
Dupont tries to clinch but Sliva moves out of range.
Dupont tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sliva swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Dupont connects with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sliva falls off balance throwing a combination
and Dupont counters with an inside leg kick.
Dupont tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Sliva manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A head kick by Sliva misses

and Dupont counters by moving into the clinch.
Dupont pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

Dupont escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Dupont stuffs the takedown attempt from Sliva. Sliva gets slowly back to his feet.
Sliva keeps the fight on the outside.

Dupont moves into the clinch successfully.
Sliva is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Dupont is trying to break the clinch but Sliva is controlling him.
Dupont looking to throw knees to the head but Sliva is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zo Dupont dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Dupont tries to clinch there but Sliva circles away.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Sliva!
Dupont plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Sliva throws a left and a right that both miss
and Dupont counters with a left and a right that stings Sliva.
Sliva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dupont counters with a low kick, right behind Sliva 's knee.
Sliva keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sliva swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Dupont counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Sliva misses with a double jab
and Dupont counters with a leg kick.
Zo Dupont is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sliva fails with a takedown attempt.
Sliva circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sliva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sliva swats away the attempt to clinch by Dupont.
Sliva swats away the attempt to clinch by Dupont.
Sliva misses with a double jab
and Dupont makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Sliva misses with a double jab
and Dupont counters with an inside leg kick.
Sliva throws a combination that misses

and Dupont counters by moving into the clinch.
Dupont wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Dupont is trying to push Sliva away but Sliva has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Dupont wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

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.
Dupont has had enough of the clinch but Sliva keeps him there for the moment.
Sliva changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Dupont fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Dupont tries to clinch there but Sliva circles away.
Sliva scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Dupont tries to clinch up but Sliva circles away and keeps his distance.
Dupont is looking to wear down Sliva with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Dupont takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Sliva throws a left and a right that both miss
and Dupont counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Sliva thinking.
Sliva swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Dupont counters with a head kick. That will keep Sliva thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
A head kick by Sliva misses
and Dupont counters with a body kick.
Sliva moves away from the strike by Dupont.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dupont goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Dupont tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sliva swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sliva fails with a takedown attempt.
Zo Dupont has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Sliva.
Dupont tries to clinch there but Sliva circles away.
Matt Sliva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dupont works the jab nicely.
Sliva with a jab.
Sliva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dupont counters with a head kick.
Dupont lands with a kick to the temple. Sliva shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Sliva swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Sliva throws a left and a right that both miss
and Dupont counters with a flying knee. Nice.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dupont tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Sliva counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Dupont tries to clinch up but Sliva circles away and keeps his distance.
Sliva keeps the fight on the outside.
Dupont ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Dupont works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Dupont moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Dupont tries to clinch there but Sliva circles away.
Dupont stuffs the takedown.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sliva circles away from the clinch attempt.
Dupont tries to clinch up.
Dupont tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sliva paws at him with a jab and circles away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zo Dupont showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dupont, 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zo Dupont!