PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Harry Viduka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rex Bannion (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Viduka
vs
Bannion

176 cm
21
172 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

175 cm
22
170 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Harry Viduka!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Rex Bannion!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Eliza Hachem and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bannion fails with an attempt to clinch.
Bannion tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Bannion throws a leg kick which misses Viduka's front leg but catches the back leg as Viduka tries to avoid it.
Viduka blocks a head kick by Bannion.

Viduka drives through and clinches with Bannion against the ropes.
Bannion connects with a knee to the head.

Viduka manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Bannion preventing the sweep.

Viduka has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Bannion can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Viduka throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

Viduka throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Bannion really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Viduka. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Bannion wants to stand but Viduka is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Viduka has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Bannion can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Viduka looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

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.
Viduka trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

Viduka had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Bannion is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Viduka Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Bannion's back instead.
Bannion looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Bannion is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Viduka.

Viduka is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Viduka is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Viduka somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Viduka struggling to land strikes to the head as Bannion covers up.
Viduka thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Bannion fending off the submission attempt from Viduka.
Bannion controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Viduka throwing sloppy strikes.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Viduka is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Bannion knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Bannion for a finish.
Bannion is trying to stand back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Harry Viduka dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Bannion darts in trying to clinch

and Viduka decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Bannion's guard.
Viduka postures up and lands a big shot to Bannion's brow.
Viduka trying to control the position from guard on top but Bannion is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Viduka sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Bannion's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Viduka throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Viduka trying to control from half guard but Bannion is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bannion is trying to stand back up but Viduka is controlling him
Viduka not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Viduka closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Bannion blocking the ground and pound attempt from Viduka.
Viduka is looking to advance position but Bannion won't allow it.
Viduka seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Bannion does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Viduka looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Bannion is trying to stand up here but Viduka is controlling him well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bannion has hold of Viduka's hands but Viduka slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Viduka wants to control but Bannion is keeping him busy.
Viduka lands strikes from half guard.
Viduka missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Viduka seems to be looking for submissions.

Viduka is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, Bannion has managed to free his arm - good work.
Viduka is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Viduka is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Viduka passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Bannion!
Bannion taking shots to the head.
Viduka wants to control the pace but Bannion is squirming around nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Harry Viduka dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes 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.

Bannion lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Harry Viduka is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Viduka blocks a head kick by Bannion.
A head kick misses from Bannion.
Bannion stuffs the takedown attempt from Viduka. Viduka gets slowly back to his feet.
A head kick misses from Bannion.

Viduka fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Bannion sprawls well initially but Viduka persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Viduka is nestled in close to Bannion, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Bannion is not content to let Viduka control the position.
Bannion has hold of Viduka's hands but Viduka slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Viduka wants to work for an arm triangle but Bannion is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Viduka is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Bannion!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Viduka lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Bannion hang on?
Viduka sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Viduka with a couple of short strikes.
Viduka looking to finish Bannion with some ground and pound. This is bad for Bannion!
Bannion wants to get back to his feet.

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.
Viduka thowing shots but they're missing.
Viduka 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.
Bannion is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Viduka looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Harry Viduka overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Viduka has hold of Bannion's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Bannion manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

Viduka wants to finish this one by submission but Bannion is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Viduka.

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.
Viduka tries to control but Bannion wriggling away.
Viduka raining down shots from the mount!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Viduka cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

And that's the end of the fight!
Harry Viduka showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Viduka, 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:26
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:26
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Harry Viduka!