PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Marcus Monk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dusko Casic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Monk comes to the cage accompanied by My Ding-a-ling. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Monk
vs
Casic

190 cm
26
180 lbs
10 - 0 - 0

185 cm
27
182 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Marcus Monk!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dusko Casic!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Steve Montenegro and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Monk thuds his right hand into Casic's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Monk rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Casic counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Casic looks to throw a body kick
and Monk counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Monk ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Casic moves away.
Monk misses with a double jab
and Casic counters with a lovely shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Casic avoids the body shot from Monk.
Casic feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Monk's calf.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Casic lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Monk has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Monk and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Monk misses with a body shot
and Casic finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Casic.
Casic stuffs the takedown attempt from Monk. Monk gets slowly back to his feet.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Monk.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Monk swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Monk takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Monk throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Monk lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Casic circles away quickly and effectively.
Monk throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Casic's waist but Casic gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Monk off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcus Monk. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Monk checks a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Monk ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Casic moves away.
Monk stuns Casic with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Monk misses with a hook.
Monk keeps the fight on the outside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dusko Casic dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Casic throws a body kick the misses

and Monk counters with a takedown into side control.
Monk cracks Casic with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Casic tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Monk wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Monk tries to score with some ground and pound. Casic controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Monk tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Casic is working to avoid the ground and pound but Monk connects with a decent elbow.
Monk tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Monk wants to control but Casic is keeping him busy.
Monk content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Casic regains half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Monk there.
Monk wants to pass the guard but Casic is defending well.
Monk 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.
Casic slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Casic tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Monk wants to control from the top but Casic keeps moving.
Monk looking to pass the guard.

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.
Monk wants to control from the top but Casic keeps moving.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Casic wants to sweep here but Monk controlling him for the moment.
Casic really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Monk. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Monk lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Casic avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Casic has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Casic keeping full guard, as Monk tries to pass.
Casic working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Monk.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Monk pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Casic is keeping the position for now.
Casic trying to keep a closed guard but Monk is proving a slippery customer.
Casic working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Monk.
Casic is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Monk moves into full guard.
Monk is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Casic tries to get to full guard but Monk has control of the leg.

Monk is working for a submission of some sort.
Monk is thwarting Casic's attempts to control the position.
Monk missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Casic gets full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Monk throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Monk dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Monk moves out of range as Casic throws a body kick.
Casic defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Monk.
Monk misses with a hook. Casic ducked under it nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Monk throws a jab when Casic was well out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Casic blocks a jab.
Casic throws a head kick but Monk moves out of range.
Casic tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Monk paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Monk lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Casic at a distance.
Casic tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Monk paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Monk looks to land a right hand but Casic moved out of range.
Monk throws a right and a left that Casic avoids nicely.
Casic throws the left hand but Monk avoids the punch easily.
Monk shoots in for a takedown but Casic shows good takedown defense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Casic needs to keep his hands up - Monk had a free shot at his head there.
Monk scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Monk throws a right hand that misses
and Casic counters with a nice kick to the body.
Casic throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Monk throws a poor cross that misses
and Casic counters with a thumping low kick.
Casic stuffs the takedown attempt from Monk. Monk gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcus Monk. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Monk takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close third round but Dusko Casic just about did enough to take it.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Monk fails to land the takedown.
Monk misses with a body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Casic throws a head kick but Monk moves out of range.
Monk bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Casic plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Monk moves out of range as Casic throws a body kick.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Monk checks a leg kick.
Casic thows a body shot but no joy.

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.
Casic lands a glancing blow to the side of Monk's head.
Monk misses with a shot to the body
and Casic counters with a body kick.
Casic tries to clinch but Monk is having none of it.
Casic uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Monk.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Casic swings for the body but Monk moves out of range.
Casic leaves Monk with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Casic attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

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.
Casic throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Dusko Casic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Casic stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcus Monk. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Casic scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Casic uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Monk.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dusko Casic dominated that fourth round.
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. This is the final round!

Casic throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Monk's head.
Casic motions for Monk to come forward. Casic throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Casic throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Casic misses with a low kick.
Monk uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Casic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Casic throws a big shot that misses.
Monk fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Casic is out of range.
Casic goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Casic is looking to clinch.

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.
Monk shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Casic as he avoids it easily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Casic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Casic fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Casic throws a combination that misses
and Monk counters with a stiff right hand.
Horrible takedown by Monk or perhaps it was just good defense by Casic which made him look bad.
Marcus Monk has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Monk misses with a takedown attempt
and Casic counters with a body kick that stops Monk in his tracks momentarily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcus Monk. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Casic throws a sloppy body shot
and Monk counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Monk takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Monk tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Casic was well out of range. Poor timing from Monk.
Casic tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Monk was well out of range. Poor timing from Casic.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Monk shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dusko Casic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Casic 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 46:49
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 46:49
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dusko Casic!