PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Denis Opal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Imperial XinZhao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Opal
vs
XinZhao

156 cm
32
135 lbs
17 - 11 - 0

175 cm
28
135 lbs
3 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Golden Supplements [O.R.G]

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 17 - 11 - 0, fighting out of London, Denis Opal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Imperial XinZhao!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, James Atkins and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Opal throws a body kick that misses.
XinZhao just misses with a punch to the body.
Opal shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as XinZhao sprawls well. XinZhao wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Opal gets slowly back to his feet.
XinZhao tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Opal is able to avoid easily.
XinZhao looks to land a combination. Opal sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Opal shoots in looking for a takedown. XinZhao tries to sprawl out of it but Opal keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. XinZhao manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Opal tries for a takedown but XinZhao sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Denis Opal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
XinZhao lands a right hook to the body.
Opal shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts XinZhao as he jumps to the side.
Opal moves in looking to clinch but XinZhao pushes him off.
Opal fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Opal throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around XinZhao's waist but XinZhao gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Opal off to one side.
Opal showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from XinZhao.
Opal misses with an uppercut
and XinZhao counters with a nice body shot.
XinZhao keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Opal fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
XinZhao moves out of range as Opal throws a body kick.
XinZhao goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Opal fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

XinZhao moves into the clinch.
XinZhao misses with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao wants a takedown but no success here.
XinZhao is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
XinZhao looking for a takedown.
XinZhao wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
XinZhao tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

XinZhao breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A right-left combo lands from XinZhao.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Opal fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with XinZhao, pushing him back against the cage.
Opal tries to pull guard but XinZhao holds him up against the cage and eventually Opal drops back down to his feet.
XinZhao doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Opal works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Opal wants to control from the top but XinZhao keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Opal stands up and waves to XinZhao to follow him.
XinZhao tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Opal swivels and escapes.
XinZhao avoids the head kick by Opal.
Opal misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That kick from Opal tenderised XinZhao's leg. XinZhao is trying to keep his angry face on.
XinZhao feints a jab promting Opal to slip. XinZhao then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Opal slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Opal shoots in for a takedown but XinZhao shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao stuffs the takedown.
XinZhao throws a body kick that misses.
No luck for XinZhao with that takedown attempt.
XinZhao tries to clinch there but Opal circles away.
XinZhao throws a right hand that Opal ducks under and follows up with a left that Opal also avoids with ease.
Opal shoots in looking for a takedown but XinZhao manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Opal's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Opal tries to clinch but XinZhao moves out of range.
Opal shoots for a takedown but XinZhao saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

XinZhao closes the distance and pushes Opal back into the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Opal using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

Opal manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Denis Opal will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Nice sprawl there from XinZhao as Opal shoots in.
Imperial XinZhao seems to be getting the better of the standup.
XinZhao with a hook.
Opal scores with a kick to the body.
Opal attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Opal throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
XinZhao misses with a takedown attempt - Opal sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

XinZhao forces Opal back against the cage and clinches.

Opal breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
XinZhao tries to close the distance and clinch up but Opal swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Opal fails in his attempt to clinch.
A nice combination there by XinZhao.
Opal throws a jab but it's blocked by XinZhao.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Opal avoids the head kick by XinZhao.
XinZhao fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Opal is looking to clinch but XinZhao is avoiding it.
A head kick misses from XinZhao.
XinZhao throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
XinZhao throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Opal's waist but Opal gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing XinZhao off to one side.
Denis Opal has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Imperial XinZhao.
Opal throws a sloppy head kick and XinZhao moves out of range easily.
XinZhao tries a head kick but it misses.

Opal rushes XinZhao and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
XinZhao tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Opal just stands there and leans against the cage.

Opal successfully pulls guard.

Opal has his feet on XinZhao's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Opal throws out the jab.
No luck for Opal with that takedown attempt.
Denis Opal is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Opal.
XinZhao leaves Opal with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
XinZhao throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Opal walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. XinZhao checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
XinZhao will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
XinZhao misses with an attempted mid kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao tries to clinch up but Opal circles away and keeps his distance.

Opal gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Opal is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but XinZhao is defending well.

Opal pulls guard.
Opal pulls XinZhao in close to prevent any damage.

XinZhao avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
XinZhao wants to control from the top but Opal keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao preventing the sweep.
XinZhao really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Opal. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Opal manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. XinZhao manages to get himself to full guard.
Opal wants to control from the top but XinZhao keeps moving.

Opal gets to his feet. XinZhao looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
XinZhao lands with a straight right. Opal didn't see that one coming.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Denis Opal dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

A head kick misses from Opal.

XinZhao tries to sprawl but Opal drives through with a takedown into half guard.
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. Opal connects with a nice short shot to XinZhao's temple.
XinZhao wants to improve his position but Opal is controlling well.
Opal throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Opal missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
XinZhao keeping hold of Opal's head, controlling as best he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Opal looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Denis Opal has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
XinZhao scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
XinZhao tries to close the distance and clinch but Opal swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
XinZhao will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
XinZhao tries to close the distance and clinch but Opal swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao tries to close the distance and clinch but Opal swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Opal is trying hard to land a takedown here. XinZhao sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
XinZhao's jab looks to have found its range, popping Opal under the eye.
XinZhao throws a body kick that misses

and Opal counters with a nice double leg into side control. XinZhao won't be happy with that.
Opal working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
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!

Opal is trying to get an arm triangle but XinZhao is defending well.
The strikes coming from Opal are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Opal wants to control but XinZhao is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
XinZhao tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Opal wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
XinZhao is trying to get back to his feet.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Denis Opal just wasn't active enough.

XinZhao closes the distance and pushes Opal back into the cage.
Opal has XinZhao pressed against the cage, preventing XinZhao from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Opal drags the fight down to the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Opal has his foot on XinZhao's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. XinZhao works his way back into a safe position though.
XinZhao tries to stand but Opal is controlling from the bottom.
Opal manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
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.
Imperial XinZhao has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Opal wants to control the pace but XinZhao is squirming around nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Denis Opal showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Opal, 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Denis Opal!
Denis Opal took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Golden Supplements [O.R.G] for their support in the buildup to the fight.