PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Branko Popovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bryan Welch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Popovic's entrance music is None. A fine choice. Welch comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Stemm's Face The Pain kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Popovic
vs
Welch

193 cm
27
192 lbs
15 - 13 - 1

183 cm
27
198 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 13 - 1, fighting out of New York, Branko Popovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bryan Welch!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, John Roberts and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Popovic wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Popovic moves out of range of the strikes.
Popovic misses with a hook
and Welch cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Welch keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Popovic rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Welch counters with a straight right hand.
Welch thows a left - swing and a miss!
Popovic misses with a hook to the body
and Welch counters with a straight right hand.
Welch bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Popovic's head.
Welch fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Popovic on the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Welch misses with a straight right.
Popovic throws a combination that misses
and Welch counters with a right hand to the body.
A shot to the body from Popovic misses
and Welch counters with a left and a right that stings Popovic.
Branko Popovic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Popovic swings away with a body shot that misses
and Welch makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Bryan Welch is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Popovic swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Welch counters with a straight right hand.
Welch throws a big shot that misses.
Popovic lands a jab to the nose.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Popovic misses with a lunging right hand
letting Welch counter with a right hand.
Welch swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Popovic.
Popovic misses with a hook
and Welch counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Popovic falls off balance throwing a combination
and Welch connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Welch lands a lovely overhand right.
Popovic throws a predictable looking body shot
and Welch counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Popovic swings widly with a right hand
and Welch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Popovic misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Welch connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Welch scores with a three punch combo!
Welch throws a jab when Popovic was well out of range.
Popovic misses with a body punch
letting Welch counter with a right hand.
Popovic throws a combination that misses
enabling Welch to counter with a crisp jab.
Popovic misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Welch makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Popovic throws a lazy uppercut
and Welch counters with a left and a right that stings Popovic.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Popovic throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Welch counters with a series of strikes. Popovic will be more careful next time no doubt.
Welch is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Popovic had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Popovic throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Welch counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Welch throws a series of punches but Popovic avoids them all with ease.
Popovic misses with a body punch
and Welch connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Welch swings widly with a right hand
and Popovic makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Popovic misses with a hook
letting Welch counter with a right hand.
Popovic throws an off balance right hand
and Welch counters with a straight right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Welch 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.

Popovic misses with a hook
and Popovic takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Popovic cracks a nice hook into Welch's ribs.
Welch will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Popovic lands the left hand.
Popovic misses with a right hand
and Welch counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Popovic scores with a hook to the body. Welch takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Welch thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Welch throws out a loose jab but Popovic uses good head movement to avoid it.
Welch smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Popovic looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Welch lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Popovic misses with a hook to the body
and Welch counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Welch lands a nice looking body shot.
Popovic misses with an uppercut
and Welch counters with a one-two to the body.
Bryan Welch is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Popovic swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Popovic misses the body punch
and Welch counters with a nice body shot.
Welch scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Popovic throws a combination that misses
and Welch counters with a nice uppercut.
Popovic throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Welch counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Popovic rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
letting Welch counter with a right hand.
Popovic moves out of range of the strikes.
Popovic throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Welch counters with a left and a right that stings Popovic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Popovic misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Welch counters with a stiff right hand.
Popovic misses with a body punch
letting Welch counter with a right hand.
Popovic throws a lazy uppercut
and Welch counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Popovic thinking.
Popovic rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Welch counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Welch might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Welch misses with a lunging right hand
and Popovic cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Welch swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Popovic misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Welch counters with a nice uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Welch bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Popovic's head backwards.
Popovic misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Welch counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Popovic thinking.
Popovic moves into range and connects with a jab.
Popovic lands a nice looking body shot.
Popovic throws an off balance right hand
and Welch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Popovic is looking to wear down Welch with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Popovic misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Welch to counter with a crisp jab.
Popovic fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Welch showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Popovic shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Welch's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Welch pulls Popovic in close to his closed guard and prevents Popovic from doing any damage or advancing position.
Popovic postures up in Welch's guard and throws a big left but Welch blocks it.
Welch is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Welch is looking to take a break and control but Popovic is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Popovic avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Welch.
Welch slips a nice elbow through Popovic's hands, connecting with Popovic's forehead.
Welch not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Welch is trying to control. Popovic wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Popovic regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Welch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Popovic is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Welch trying to control the position from guard on top but Popovic is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Welch is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Welch throwing strikes but missing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Welch accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Welch accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Welch works a leg free and moves into half guard.

That's two 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.

Welch is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Popovic defends it well.
Popovic moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Popovic is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Popovic keeping moving, preventing Welch from controlling successfully.
Welch trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Welch trying to control but Popovic is working from the bottom.
Welch stopping the sweep attempt from Popovic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Welch throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Welch throwing strikes from guard but Popovic blocks nicely.
Welch is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Welch trying to control but Popovic is working from the bottom.
Welch distracts Popovic with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Popovic is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Welch throwing strikes from guard but Popovic blocks nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Welch loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Popovic keeping moving, preventing Welch from controlling successfully.
Branko Popovic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Welch working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Welch throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Popovic works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Popovic can't keep his opponent in guard - Welch advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Popovic keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Welch with the ground and pound but Popovic uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Welch wants to control from the top but Popovic keeps moving.

Welch is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Bryan Welch.
Well Welch 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bryan Welch!