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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Drake Melfred (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Denis Opal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!
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| 175 cm
21
153 lbs
5 - 2 - 0 |
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156 cm
27
135 lbs
8 - 6 - 0 |
BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin |
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BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Drake Melfred!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Denis Opal!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Steven Brown and Sam Margolis.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Opal swinging wildly here.
Melfred avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Opal tries to clinch up but Melfred circles away and keeps his distance.
Opal fails with a takedown attempt.
Melfred fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Opal, pushing him back against the cage.
Opal jumps guard but Melfred stands there with Opal around his waist. Opal gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Opal's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Melfred doesn't manage to clinch there - Opal circles away.
Melfred shoots for a takedown but Opal saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Opal fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Drake Melfred has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Denis Opal.
Opal has Melfred up against the cage in a clinch.
Opal changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Melfred fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Melfred fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Opal manages to avoid it.
Melfred dives in and grabs Opal's left leg, looking for a takedown. Opal pushes down on Melfred's head and hops out.
Melfred is looking to score with low kicks.
Melfred tries a head kick but it misses.
Melfred avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Opal gets a takedown into half guard.
Melfred wants to get back to full guard.
Opal wants to pass the guard but Melfred is defending well.
Opal is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Melfred doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Opal.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Opal perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Melfred trying to control but Opal postures up.
Melfred manages to get to full guard.
Melfred escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Opal gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melfred wants to stand and escape but Opal is having none of it.
Opal slips nicely into half guard.
Melfred actively working from the bottom here.
Melfred wants to get back to full guard.
Opal stands up from half guard.
A decent looking cross lands there for Opal.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melfred tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Opal.
Melfred shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Opal manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Melfred showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Melfred trying to control the position from guard on top but Opal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Melfred will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Melfred preventing the sweep.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Opal is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Melfred is controlling him.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Melfred is fighting to break Opal's control of his arms but Opal is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close round but Denis Opal will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.
Melfred fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Melfred blocks a head kick by Opal.
Melfred circles away from the clinch attempt
and Melfred counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Opal wants to sweep here but Melfred controlling him for the moment.
Melfred trying to control the position from guard on top but Opal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Melfred tries to stand but Opal is controlling from the bottom.
Melfred looking to sit in guard and control but Opal gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Opal throwing strikes but missing.
Opal thows a big elbow that misses.
Drake Melfred overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Opal's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Melfred is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Melfred is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Opal sitting in guard here, content to control.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Opal works over Melfred with some ground and pound from guard.
Opal advances to half guard.
Melfred trying to get back to full guard but Opal takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Opal lands with some strikes.
Opal raining down shots from the mount!
Opal can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Melfred is looking to escape.
Opal with good strikes from the mount here!
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Opal prevents Melfred from getting the reversal.
Opal controlling from mount.
Opal working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Melfred is bucking up trying to escape but Opal cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Melfred slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Opal slows the pace down in half guard.
Opal is just content to waste time from the top position. Melfred takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melfred is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Melfred wants to stand up but Opal is controlling him.
Opal content to stall in guard here.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Opal. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Opal wanted to stand there but Melfred had control of the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Opal forces his way into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Denis Opal showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Opal gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Melfred to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Melfred trying to control but Opal is working from the bottom.
Opal looking for a guillotine here but Melfred defends easily.
Melfred trying to control the position from guard on top but Opal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Opal utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Melfred avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Melfred tries to free his leg and advance position but Opal is retaining full guard.
Opal throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Melfred showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Melfred has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Opal throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Melfred advances to half guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Opal trying to control but Melfred postures up.
Opal is concentrating on defense, preventing Melfred from advancing position.
Opal has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Melfred is working away from the top position though.
Melfred tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Opal wants to control but Melfred is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Opal is trying to get back to full guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ref stands the fighters back up. Denis Opal was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Opal avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Melfred gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Melfred fails to pull guard.
Opal escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Melfred fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Melfred blocks a head kick by Opal.
Opal tries to land a front kick but Melfred steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Melfred shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Opal pinned against the cage. Opal gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Drake Melfred. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Melfred lands a front kick.
Opal looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Opal stops Melfred from standing up.
Opal seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Melfred tries to strike from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Melfred throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close third round but Denis Opal just about did enough to take it.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Melfred with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Opal throws a sloppy head kick and Melfred moves out of range easily.
Melfred shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Opal is trying to defend but Melfred finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Opal keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Melfred trying to advance position but Opal counters by regaining guard.
Opal keeping moving, preventing Melfred from controlling successfully.
Opal controls Melfred momentarily but Melfred frees himself.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Melfred preventing the sweep.
Melfred stops Opal from standing up.
Opal keeping moving, preventing Melfred from controlling successfully.
Opal being controlled here, momentarily.
Drake Melfred has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Opal misses with a double jab.
Melfred misses with a series of wild punches.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melfred throws a head kick that misses.
Opal fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Melfred, pushing him back against the cage.
Opal lands a takedown into guard.
Melfred is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Melfred had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Opal defends it easily.
Melfred is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Opal trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melfred bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Opal's guard.
Opal keeping moving, preventing Melfred from controlling successfully.
Opal is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Opal is looking for a triangle here but Melfred uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Opal struggling a bit here.
Melfred scoring with punches from side control.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melfred decides to stand back up. Melfred steps back and let's Opal get back to his feet.
Melfred shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Opal pinned against the cage. Opal gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Melfred avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Opal. No joy for Melfred on that attempt.
Melfred takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Melfred tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Melfred slaps away a takedown attempt from Opal, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Opal gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close fourth round but I would say that Drake Melfred will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!
Opal tries to close the distance and clinch but Melfred swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Melfred.
Melfred gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Drake Melfred is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Melfred shoots in for a double leg but Opal sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Opal misses with a takedown attempt - Melfred sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Melfred tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Opal paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Opal shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Melfred but Melfred pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Melfred wants to clinch up but Opal keeps it at a distance.
Opal closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Opal lands in his opponent's guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Opal in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Opal trying to control but Melfred is working from the bottom.
Melfred tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Opal showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Opal trying to control the position from guard on top but Melfred is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Denis Opal has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Opal fails with a takedown attempt.
Drake Melfred has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Denis Opal.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Opal takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Opal wants to clinch.
Opal is looking to clinch.
Opal fails with an attempt to clinch.
Opal decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Opal seems to be working for a kimura but Melfred defends the submission attempt.
Opal is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Melfred is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Opal jumps into side control!
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melfred tries to improve position but can't.
The referee asks Opal politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Opal prefers to stall for the moment though.
Melfred is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Opal has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Melfred tries to bench press Opal off him but Opal keeps the position.
Melfred tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Melfred really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melfred is in a horrible position here. Opal smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Opal takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Melfred tries to control Opal's body but Opal pushes him off. Melfred squirms to his side and now Opal has his back!
Opal controlling the position well here. Melfred rolled but Opal kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Melfred wants to control his opponent's hands but Opal gets his hands free.
And that's the end of the fight!
Denis Opal comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Opal 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge James Glass scores the fight for Denis Opal!
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight for Denis Opal!
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight for Denis Opal!
Denis Opal wins by unanimous decision!
Denis Opal is the new featherweight champion!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
81% |
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