PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Duddy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Slade Waterholder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Duddy is coming into this fight with a significant injury, which will no doubt have an effect on his cardio. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Duddy
vs
Waterholder

182 cm
27
196 lbs
13 - 7 - 0

185 cm
25
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Solid chin

Fight Day Nutrition (Authentic 160Q/159Q supps!)

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 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, John Duddy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Slade Waterholder!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Viktor Lagutenko and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Waterholder closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Duddy to the mat! Duddy manages to get full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Duddy is breathing heavily.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Waterholder drops back looking for a leg! Duddy is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Duddy manages to kick Waterholder off! Waterholder jumps back into Duddy's guard.
Waterholder stays in close to Duddy's body and controls the position.
Waterholder sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Duddy's guard.

Waterholder is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Waterholder trying to control the action but Duddy is working from the bottom.
Waterholder missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Waterholder takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Waterholder trying to control from half guard but Duddy is working away.
Waterholder trying to mount his opponent but Duddy defends it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Waterholder 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.
Waterholder thows a huge punch but Duddy dodges it nicely.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Waterholder seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Waterholder is trying to control the action in half guard but Duddy is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Waterholder seems to be working for a kimura but Duddy defends the submission attempt.
Duddy regains full guard. Nicely done.
Duddy keeping moving, preventing Waterholder from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Duddy controls Waterholder momentarily but Waterholder frees himself.
Waterholder pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Duddy is keeping the position for now.
Duddy working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Waterholder.
Waterholder won't allow Duddy to sweep him here.
Waterholder trying to control but Duddy is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Slade Waterholder was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Waterholder tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Duddy is able to avoid easily.
Duddy fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A looping hook to the body misses from Waterholder. Duddy does a little dance to reset his feet.
Duddy keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Waterholder.
Duddy dodges the punch combination from Waterholder.
Duddy misses with a looping right.
Sloppy strikes from Waterholder. Those never looked like landing.
Duddy takes a swing at Waterholder's ribcage but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Waterholder throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Duddy checks a leg kick.
A punch combination from Duddy misses.
John Duddy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Waterholder drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Waterholder trying to control the position from guard on top but Duddy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Waterholder drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Waterholder jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Duddy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Waterholder is looking to work some ground and pound but Duddy has wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Slade Waterholder dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Duddy swats away the attempt to clinch by Waterholder.
Waterholder swings for the body but Duddy moves out of range.
Duddy throws out a loose jab but Waterholder uses good head movement to avoid it.
Waterholder shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Duddy pinned against the cage. Duddy gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A slow jab from Waterholder misses its intended target.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Waterholder ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Duddy moves away.
Waterholder throws a series of punches but Duddy moves out of range.
Duddy throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Waterholder.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Duddy ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Waterholder looks to land a left hand but Duddy moved out of range nicely.

Waterholder darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Waterholder working over Duddy with some ground and pound. Duddy looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Waterholder is looking for a kimura but Duddy is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Waterholder to get the leverage.

Duddy is defending against the submission attempts here by Waterholder.
Waterholder uses his free foot to push down on Duddy's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Duddy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duddy is desperately trying to improve his position but Waterholder has a good base and remains in mount.
Waterholder looking to control but Duddy is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Duddy is wriggling around trying to escape.
Waterholder is trying to take his opponent's back.
Waterholder sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Waterholder looking to secure an arm triangle but Duddy defends it well.
Duddy is working to get back to half guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Waterholder trying to control but Duddy is having none of it.
Waterholder looking to finish with strikes here!
Duddy working to try and regain half guard.
Waterholder misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

Waterholder wants to finish this one by submission but Duddy is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Waterholder.
Waterholder punching from mount but Duddy doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duddy looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Duddy rolls, trying to escape but Waterholder keeps control of the position.

Waterholder has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Waterholder misses with an elbow to the head.

Duddy is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Waterholder misses with a punch to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Slade Waterholder showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Duddy dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Waterholder rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Duddy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A punch combination from Waterholder misses.
Duddy pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Waterholder back to the cage. Duddy follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Duddy moves out of range as Waterholder strikes.
A jab from Waterholder misses.
Waterholder lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Duddy circles away quickly and effectively.
A combination from Duddy does no damage.
Waterholder tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Duddy paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Waterholder throws a body punch but Duddy moves out of range.
Waterholder throws an overhand right that lands on Duddy's shoulder, as Duddy tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Waterholder misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Some wild striking there from Waterholder.
Duddy avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Waterholder throws a jab when Duddy was well out of range.
John Duddy is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Duddy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Waterholder.
Duddy scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Slade Waterholder is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Waterholder shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Duddy but Duddy pushes him off and we're back to square one.
A telegraphed right hand from Duddy misses the target.
Waterholder throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Duddy.
Duddy moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Waterholder misses with the combination.
Duddy throws the left hand but Waterholder avoids the punch easily.
A slow jab from Waterholder misses its intended target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duddy misses with a double jab.
Waterholder fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Duddy fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A combination from Waterholder does no damage.
Waterholder throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Duddy's waist but Duddy gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Waterholder off to one side.
John Duddy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Slade Waterholder.
Waterholder misses with a looping left.
Duddy scores with a jab. Waterholder acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Waterholder tries to close the distance and clinch up but Duddy swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Slade Waterholder seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Waterholder is looking to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Waterholder fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Duddy, pushing him back against the cage.
Waterholder wants to break the clinch but can't.
Waterholder wants a takedown.
Duddy pressing his opponent against the cage.
John Duddy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Duddy escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

And that's the end of the fight!
Slade Waterholder comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Waterholder 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Slade Waterholder!