PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Danny Tatum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Damien Maia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Maia is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by David Goliath - Midwest Meat Market. Damien Maia will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Tatum
vs
Maia

165 cm
29
148 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

173 cm
31
150 lbs
15 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

[CBK] The Smashwear Corporation

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Danny Tatum!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Damien Maia!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Aleksandr Martynov and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maia blocks a jab.

Tatum shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Maia is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Tatum is looking to work some ground and pound but Maia has wrist control.
Tatum wants to pass the guard but Maia is keeping the position.
Tatum working some strikes from top position.
Maia is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Tatum missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tatum throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Tatum pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Maia is keeping the position for now.
Tatum landing with the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tatum with a nice head shot there.
Maia controls Tatum momentarily but Tatum frees himself.
Tatum 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.
Tatum passes easily into side control. Nice work.
The ground and pound from Tatum seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Tatum working the ground and pound but Maia is defending the strikes.
Tatum throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Tatum working away.
Tatum with the ground and pound but Maia regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tatum not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tatum is thwarting Maia's attempts to control the position.
Maia taking some punishment here, with Tatum in his half guard.
Maia wants to control but Tatum is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Tatum wants to pass to mount but Maia is defending the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Maia wants to improve his position but Tatum is controlling well.
Maia trying to control here.
Maia tries to get to full guard but Tatum has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tatum throwing shots but Maia is blocking nicely.
Tatum lands with a punch from half guard.
Tatum is looking to advance position but Maia won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tatum is working hard here to advance position.
Tatum not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Tatum is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Tatum is thwarting Maia's attempts to control the position.
Maia avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tatum.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maia is trying to get back to full guard.
Tatum throwing shots but Maia is blocking nicely.
Tatum sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Maia defending well though.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Tatum connects with a nice short shot to Maia's temple.
Tatum not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Tatum misses with a head shot. Maia uses the momentum to regain guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tatum lands a couple of digs.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tatum tries to free his leg and advance position but Maia is retaining full guard.
Maia working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tatum.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Tatum avoids the body shot from Maia.
Maia throws a hook but Tatum avoids it easily.
Tatum throws a jab but it's blocked by Maia.
Tatum throws a hook but Maia blocks it.
Tatum shoots in looking for a takedown but Maia manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Tatum's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Tatum throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Tatum walks into a left hand.
Maia swats away the attempt to clinch by Tatum.
Tatum on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Maia misses the jab.
Tatum shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Donk. Tatum catches Maia right on the button with a cross.
Tatum moves out of range as Maia strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maia misses with a jab to the body

and Tatum counters with a nice double leg into side control. Maia won't be happy with that.

Tatum tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Tatum has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Tatum lands some shots froms side control.
Maia takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Tatum working the ground and pound from side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Maia is looking to regain half guard here but Tatum keeps moving and retains side control.

Tatum is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Maia knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Tatum throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maia wants to control but Tatum postures up.
Maia defending against the ground and pound.
Maia really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Tatum. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Tatum in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Maia stops Tatum from passing to mount.
Maia tries to improve position but can't.
Tatum working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Maia is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Tatum landing a few strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tatum prevents Maia from escaping the position.

Tatum goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Maia rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Tatum's guard! Nice work there by Maia!
Maia must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Tatum working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Maia has passed into half guard!

Tatum looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Maia stalling.
Tatum tries to roll over but Maia keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Tatum looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Maia pushes past his half guard into mount!
Tatum is wriggling around trying to escape.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Maia is trying to control here but Tatum has managed to regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danny Tatum dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A big left from Maia misses.
Maia's jab looks to have found its range, popping Tatum under the eye.
Tatum throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Maia just misses with a punch to the body.
Tatum throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Maia dips to his left and cracks Tatum with an uppercut!
Tatum looks to score with a jab to the body but Maia is just out of range.
Maia rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Tatum counters with a nice body shot.
Nice sprawl there from Maia as Tatum shoots in.
Tatum is looking to wear down Maia with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Tatum jabs Maia to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Maia throws a lazy right hand but Tatum sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Maia avoids the body shot from Tatum.
Maia scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maia lands a right hook to the body.
Maia uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Tatum.
Maia jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Tatum uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Maia.
Tatum throws a body punch but Maia moves out of range.
Tatum uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Maia.
Tatum doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Maia keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Nice uppercut lands for Maia. That snapped Tatum's head back.
Maia cracks Tatum with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Tatum misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Maia.
Tatum lands a right hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maia jabs at Tatum's body.
A jab from Maia misses.
Tatum throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Danny Tatum seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tatum wants to land a leg kick but Maia is out of range.
Maia looks to score with a jab to the body but Tatum is just out of range.
Tatum just misses with a punch to the body.
Maia stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Maia wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Danny Tatum. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Tatum throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Tatum thows a body shot but no joy.
Tatum thows a left - swing and a miss!
Damien Maia is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Tatum steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Maia.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tatum misses with a takedown attempt - Maia sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Damien Maia seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Maia thows a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maia blocks a jab.
Tatum is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Maia's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Tatum missing with a left hand there. Maia was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Maia lands a jab to Tatum's midsection.
Danny Tatum is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nice defenses there by Tatum.
A swing and a miss from Maia.
Maia works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
A big left from Tatum misses.
Maia misses with an uppercut.
Maia ducks under a wild hook from Tatum.
Maia takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Tatum throws an overhand right that lands on Maia's shoulder, as Maia tries to avoid the shot.
Maia uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Tatum.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maia throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Tatum drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Maia sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Tatum seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Tatum seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Maia for as long as he can get away with.
Damien Maia has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tatum has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Danny Tatum.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Tatum, 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Danny Tatum!
A loyal slave to those sponsorship dollars, Danny Tatum made sure he mentioned [EVO] Koffin Inc. *Laundry Available*, along with how happy he was to win his fight.