PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kappi Bateman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Durham (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bateman comes to the cage accompanied by 20th century boy. The crowd seem to be enjoying Durham's choice of entrance music: Mac Miller - Smile Back. Mike Durham has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Bateman
vs
Durham

170 cm
24
145 lbs
6 - 8 - 1

170 cm
23
144 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Charlie Wang's Nutrition and 95 % Laundry

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 6 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kappi Bateman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mike Durham!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Durham misses with a hook. Bateman ducked under it nicely.
Durham misses with a two punch combination.
Bateman misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Bateman staying out of range there.
Bateman fails to land with a series of punches.
Durham lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Bateman circles away quickly and effectively.
Bateman staying out of range there.
Durham shoots in and drives through. Bateman sprawls well.
Durham shoots for a double leg takedown but Bateman sprawls well. He's pushed Durham's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Durham swings widly with a right hand

and Bateman counters by moving into the clinch.
A right handed body shot lands from Bateman.
Bateman taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bateman misses with an elbow over the top.
Bateman stalls.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Kappi Bateman.
A slow jab from Durham misses its intended target.
Bateman uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Durham.
Durham swings widly with a right hand

and Bateman counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Bateman.
Bateman misses with some punches.
Bateman's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Durham changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Bateman fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Kappi Bateman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mike Durham.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Durham with a poor takedown
and Bateman counters with a thumping low kick.
Durham fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Bateman on the side of the head.
Durham misses with a straight left.
Durham swings for the body but Bateman moves out of range.
Bateman tries to clinch but Durham is having none of it.
Durham rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Bateman moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Durham misses the target.

Bateman has taken the fight to the clinch.
Bateman stops a takedown attempt from Durham.
Bateman is stalling here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bateman tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Durham avoids it.
Bateman scores with a hook to the body.
Bateman stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Bateman misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Durham.
Bateman content to slow the pace in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Kappi Bateman.
Bateman uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Durham.
Durham shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Bateman as he jumps to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bateman is looking to clinch.

Durham shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Bateman napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Bateman explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Mike Durham seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Durham loads up on a big right hand but Bateman slips the punch.
Durham takes a swing at Bateman's ribcage but misses.
Durham misses with an uppercut.
Bateman tries to close the distance and clinch but Durham swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Durham shoots in for a takedown but Bateman shows good takedown defense.
Durham throws a poor cross that misses
and Bateman counters with a slapping leg kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bateman tries to clinch but Durham is having none of it.

Durham shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Bateman napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Bateman is trying to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kappi Bateman dominated that round.
That's time! Bateman's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Bateman rushes Durham and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Bateman stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Durham drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Durham looking for a takedown.
Bateman leaning his opponent against the cage.
Durham is looking to take this one to the mat.
Kappi Bateman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mike Durham.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Durham changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Bateman fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Durham with a lazy takedown attempt
and Bateman counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Durham throws a series of punches but Bateman avoids them all with ease.
Kappi Bateman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Bateman clinches.
Bateman slows down the pace here.
Durham is looking to take this one to the mat.
Bateman throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
The referee is keeping an eye on Bateman - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bateman gets underhooks to prevent Durham's takedown attempt.
Durham tries for a takedown but Bateman manages to get underhooks.
Bateman throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Bateman stalling the fight.
Durham can't get the takedown.
Bateman trying to land knees to the body.
Durham is trying to drag Bateman to the mat but Bateman just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Bateman taking a breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Kappi Bateman.
Durham shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Bateman as he jumps to the side.
Bateman misses with a head kick.

Durham fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Bateman to the ground. Durham is now in Bateman's guard.
Bateman is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Bateman scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Bateman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Bateman stuffs the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bateman clinches.
Bateman displaying some good clinch control by pressing Durham up against the cage.
Bateman gets underhooks to prevent Durham's takedown attempt.
Durham letting Bateman take a breather here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kappi Bateman dominated that second round.
That's time! Bateman's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Durham uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Bateman tries to clinch up but Durham circles away and keeps his distance.
Bateman scores with a head kick. Durham tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

Bateman gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Durham tries to score a body lock takedown but Bateman shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Bateman tries to stall but Durham uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Bateman is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Durham is defending well for now.
Durham is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Durham drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kappi Bateman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mike Durham.
Bateman is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Bateman.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Kappi Bateman.
Bateman fails with an attempt to clinch.
Bateman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Durham swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Bateman darts in trying to clinch
and Durham counters with a nice uppercut.
Durham fails with the takedown
and Bateman counters with a good low kick that Durham was not able to check.

Bateman closes the distance and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Durham is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Bateman can't fight it off and eventually Durham manages to take the fight to the floor. Bateman looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Bateman is looking to stand up but Durham isn't so interested in that idea.
Durham wants to control from the top but Bateman keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Durham accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bateman wants to get back to his feet but Durham is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Durham trying to control but Bateman is working from the bottom.
Bateman is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Durham is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bateman keeping moving, preventing Durham from controlling successfully.
Bateman avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Durham trying to control but Bateman is working from the bottom.

Mike Durham has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Durham fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Durham fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Durham scores a takedown into full mount!
Durham takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Durham working Bateman over with strikes here.
Bateman blocking the ground and pound.
Kappi Bateman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bateman is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Durham lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Bateman is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Bateman 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.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bateman blocking the ground and pound.
Bateman is bucking up trying to escape but Durham cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Durham trying to control but Bateman is having none of it.
Durham cracks Bateman with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Durham breaks from Bateman's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Mike Durham has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bateman is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike Durham comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Bateman has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kappi Bateman!