PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Damien Koch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sheamus Belfort (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Koch
vs
Belfort

191 cm
24
240 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

185 cm
25
220 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Damien Koch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Sheamus Belfort!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Micheangelo Fripello and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Koch is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Koch lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

Belfort shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Koch's guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Koch is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Belfort is controlling him.
Belfort tries to free his leg and advance position but Koch is retaining full guard.
Belfort is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Belfort won't allow Koch to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Belfort stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Belfort explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Belfort misses with a takedown
and Koch counters with a stiff right hand.
Belfort throws a right hand that Koch ducks under and follows up with a left that Koch also avoids with ease.

Belfort darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Belfort prevents Koch from standing back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belfort wants to control but Koch is keeping him busy.
Koch wants to get back to his feet.
Belfort working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Belfort perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Belfort prevents Koch from standing back up.
Belfort wants to pass the guard but Koch is defending well.
Koch gets full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belfort looking to pass the guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sheamus Belfort was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Koch scores with a decent looking hook.
Belfort shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Koch pinned against the cage. Koch gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Belfort looks winded!
Koch lands a really nice looking cross but Belfort seems unphased.

Belfort closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Koch did well to prevent Belfort getting side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belfort is controlling the pace.
Belfort sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Koch defending well though.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Koch wants to get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Koch tries to roll over but Belfort keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sheamus Belfort dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Belfort misses with a hook to the body
and Koch counters with a stiff right hand.
Koch jabs Belfort right on the nose. Belfort blinks but takes it well.
Belfort misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Belfort lands with a straight right. Koch didn't see that one coming.
Koch uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Belfort has time to react.
Koch lands with a hook. Belfort tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

Belfort moves into the clinch successfully.
Koch has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Belfort breaks from the clinch.
Belfort thows a body shot but no joy.
Koch catches Belfort with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Belfort fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Koch lands a jab to Belfort's midsection.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Belfort drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belfort wants to pass the guard but Koch is keeping the position.
Belfort is breathing heavily.
Belfort wants to control from the top but Koch keeps moving.
Belfort is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Koch wants to stand up but Belfort is controlling him.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Sheamus Belfort.
Koch cracks Belfort with a right hand to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belfort feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Kochs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Sheamus Belfort is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Belfort avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Belfort clinches up with Koch and pushes him back against the cage.
Koch wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Belfort has him pressed against the cage.
Belfort fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Koch gets underhooks to prevent Belfort's takedown attempt.
Belfort landing knees to the body.
Koch is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Belfort's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Koch scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Belfort takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Belfort moves forwards but Koch connects with a nice, crisp jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koch clobbers Belfort with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Belfort misses with a takedown attempt - Koch sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Damien Koch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sheamus Belfort.
Koch tries to clinch up.
Belfort fails with the takedown.
Koch lands a jab to the head.
Koch fails in his attempt to clinch.
Damien Koch is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Belfort gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Koch stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Koch clobbers Belfort with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Belfort fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Koch pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Belfort back to the cage. Koch follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Koch tests Belfort's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Koch uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Belfort has time to react.
Koch tests Belfort's chin there with a solid looking shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Koch connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Belfort's hands.
Belfort walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Koch throws a shot to the body.
Koch throws a right and a left that both miss.
Koch bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Koch scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Koch.
Koch lands an overhand right.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damien Koch dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - 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.

Belfort closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Koch did well to prevent Belfort getting side control.
Well, if Belfort is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Koch is staying active underneath Belfort, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Koch is trying to stand up here but Belfort is controlling him well.
Belfort is taking a breather. Koch says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Sheamus Belfort.
Belfort misses with a takedown attempt - Koch sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belfort takes one to the side of the head.
Belfort takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Belfort with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Koch to score with a decent uppercut.
Koch scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Belfort shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Belfort shoots for a double leg takedown but Koch sprawls well. He's pushed Belfort's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Belfort shoots and misses
and Koch counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Damien Koch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sheamus Belfort.
Belfort looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Belfort needs to keep his hands up - Koch had a free shot at his head there.
Koch motions for Belfort to come forward. Koch throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Belfort avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Good standup being displayed there by Koch as he connects with a hook.
Belfort checks the leg kick.
Koch lands with an overhand left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belfort gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Koch slaps away a takedown attempt from Belfort, before circling back to the center of the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Koch lands a head shot.
Damien Koch is winning the standup battle so far.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Belfort checks a leg kick.
Koch tries to close the distance and clinch but Belfort swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The fighters circle momentarily. Koch darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Koch swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Good standup being displayed there by Koch as he connects with a hook.
Koch works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Belfort has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Belfort circles away from the clinch attempt.
Belfort tries to clinch up but Koch circles away and keeps his distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Koch scores with a nice head shot.
Belfort misses the shot to the body.
Koch keeps the fight on the outside.
Damien Koch seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Belfort ducks right into an uppercut from Koch.
Jab, jab by Koch - just one landing.
Koch lands with an uppercut that bounces Belfort off the cage and back into range.
Belfort takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
A decent looking cross lands there for Koch.
Belfort moves forwards but Koch connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Koch tries to clinch up

and Belfort counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Belfort trying to control the action but Koch is working from the bottom.
Koch wants to get back to his feet.
Belfort is taking a breather. Koch says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sheamus Belfort was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Belfort takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Koch with a hook.

And that's the end of the fight!
Damien Koch showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Koch 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 29:28
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damien Koch!