PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Karl De Groot (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tad Ghostal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Ghostal's choice of entrance music: Good King Wenceslas. On his way into the cage it seems that Karl De Groot has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Karl De Groot seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

De Groot
vs
Ghostal

170 cm
31
158 lbs
34 - 14 - 0

183 cm
30
145 lbs
23 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Syndicate Nutrition
Fenrir Fightgear - Steel Penn

[Laundry Open 95%] Xtreme Merchandise

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 34 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Karl De Groot!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Tad Ghostal!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Damien Edna and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ghostal keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
De Groot just misses with a punch to the body.
De Groot looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
De Groot misses the shot to the body.
De Groot ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ghostal moves away.
De Groot checks a leg kick nicely.
De Groot lands a jab to Ghostal's midsection.
Ghostal misses with a hook.
Ghostal goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
De Groot throws a jab but it's blocked by Ghostal.
Ghostal takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Ghostal connects with an inside leg kick.
De Groot just misses with a punch to the body.
De Groot throws a leg kick but Ghostal checks it.
De Groot swings and misses with a hook to the body.
De Groot ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Nice defenses there by Ghostal.
Ghostal is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Ghostal thuds his shin into the meat of De Groot's side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Groot throws a leg kick
and Ghostal counters with a left to the body.
De Groot scores with a jab to the head.
Ghostal throws a hook but De Groot blocks it.
De Groot throws a low kick but Ghostal avoids it.
De Groot has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Ghostal.
De Groot tries to clinch but Ghostal moves out of range.
De Groot throws a shot from downtown. Ghostal moves away and avoids it.
De Groot tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ghostal was well out of range. Poor timing from De Groot.
De Groot checks a leg kick.
Karl De Groot seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Groot lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Ghostal keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
De Groot blocks a low kick nicely.
Ghostal throws a push kick but De Groot slaps the foot to one side.
De Groot is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ghostal.
De Groot throws a hook but Ghostal avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ghostal swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ghostal steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from De Groot. That one must have hurt.
De Groot blocks a leg kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De Groot lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Ghostal fails with the takedown.
Ghostal moves out of range as De Groot throws a body kick.
Ghostal ducks down and throws a hook to the body but De Groot moves away.
De Groot throws a wild body kick that Ghostal sees coming a mile off.
De Groot misses with the body kick
and Ghostal counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Ghostal.
De Groot blocks a head kick by Ghostal.
De Groot throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Ghostal counters with a good low kick that De Groot was not able to check.
Ghostal dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
De Groot misses with a two punch combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ghostal scores with a leg kick.
De Groot is looking to wear down Ghostal with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
De Groot misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ghostal.
De Groot throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ghostal sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Ghostal avoids a punch combination nicely.

Ghostal looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for De Groot!
De Groot wants to control but Ghostal postures up.
Ghostal tries to score with some ground and pound. De Groot controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
De Groot is trying to improve his position.
De Groot wants to control but Ghostal postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ghostal lands some shots froms side control.
Ghostal lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
De Groot is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Ghostal's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ghostal looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks De Groot with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
De Groot wants to control the action here but instead Ghostal manages to pass to full mount!
Ghostal scores with a couple of good head shots there.
De Groot is trying to escape the mount.
Ghostal has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Ghostal with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
De Groot is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tad Ghostal will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

De Groot throws a quick inside leg kick.
De Groot looks for the body kick but Ghostal saw that one coming.
De Groot throws a nice outside leg kick.
Some bone on bone action there as Ghostal checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
De Groot swings for the body but Ghostal moves out of range.
De Groot will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
De Groot uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ghostal.
De Groot keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
De Groot gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Ghostal.
De Groot pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Ghostal throws a front kick that sends De Groot stumbling back into the cage.
De Groot tries to bum rush Ghostal with a series of wild strikes but Ghostal uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ghostal checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
De Groot swings for the body but Ghostal moves out of range.

Ghostal is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in De Groot's half guard.
Ghostal is thwarting De Groot's attempts to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Groot on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
De Groot moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
De Groot working a defensive guard here.
De Groot is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
De Groot looking to control.
Ghostal trying to control but De Groot is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ghostal lands a couple of digs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ghostal throwing strikes but missing.
De Groot might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Ghostal looking to pass the guard.
Ghostal is looking to work some ground and pound but De Groot has wrist control.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ghostal's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
De Groot seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Ghostal looking to sit in guard and control but De Groot gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Ghostal has an active guard here but De Groot has managed to pass into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De Groot prevents Ghostal from improving his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Groot is taking a breather. Ghostal 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.

Ghostal actively working from the bottom here.
Ghostal trying to control but De Groot postures up.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ghostal has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. De Groot is working away from the top position though.
Ghostal has a hand on De Groot's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. De Groot takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
De Groot takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Groot's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
De Groot tries to control but Ghostal wriggling away.
Ghostal can't escape the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De Groot wants to control the pace but Ghostal is squirming around nicely.
De Groot is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ghostal is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Tad Ghostal will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Ghostal has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by De Groot.
Karl De Groot is winning the standup battle so far.
Ghostal blocks a low kick nicely.
Ghostal keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from De Groot.
Ghostal throws a shot to the body.
Ghostal keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from De Groot.
De Groot misses with a body shot.
De Groot thows a left - swing and a miss!
De Groot lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
De Groot is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
De Groot thows a body shot but no joy.
De Groot throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
De Groot misses with a low kick.
Ghostal throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Groot fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ghostal looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Ghostal lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Ghostal finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
De Groot throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Ghostal uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from De Groot.
Ghostal misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ghostal defending well as De Groot loads up on a big left hand.
Ghostal fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

De Groot pushes Ghostal up against the cage in a clinch.
Ghostal misses with a short punch on the inside.
De Groot misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ghostal lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Groot backwards.
Ghostal misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ghostal swings wildly with an uppercut but De Groot uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karl De Groot has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Groot misses with some punches.
Ghostal lands a shot to the body.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ghostal.
Ghostal tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
De Groot misses with a shot to the kidneys.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ghostal lands a hook that snaps the head of De Groot backwards.
Ghostal has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
De Groot holding his opponent close, against the cage.
De Groot misses with a body punch.
De Groot swings wildly with an uppercut but Ghostal uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ghostal throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Ghostal misses with the head strike.
Ghostal scores with a shoulder strike.
De Groot blocks a body shot from Ghostal.
De Groot takes a shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Groot misses with a body punch.
De Groot lands with a short punch from the clinch.
De Groot is working Ghostal over against the cage.
Ghostal lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Ghostal blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for De Groot.
De Groot doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ghostal working aggressively here.
De Groot throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Ghostal working aggressively here.
Ghostal blocks a body shot from De Groot.
Nice body punch from De Groot - that landed with a thud.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ghostal.
Ghostal fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
De Groot misses with a body punch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De Groot misses with a body punch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Groot tries to land knees in the clinch but Ghostal avoids the damage to the body.
Ghostal tries for a takedown. No joy.
A head punch on the inside from De Groot fails to land.
De Groot tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
De Groot blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
De Groot misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ghostal misses with some punches.
De Groot tries a knee to the head but Ghostal blocks it.
A right hook to the body lands for Ghostal.
Ghostal doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ghostal misses with a hook to the ribs.
De Groot lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Karl De Groot has scored more points in the clinch so far.
De Groot trying to land knees to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De Groot struggles to land a body shot inside as Ghostal controls his hands.
Ghostal lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Ghostal holding his opponent close, against the cage.
A right hook to the body lands for De Groot.

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 Karl De Groot.
I think Ghostal has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 28:29
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 28:29
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Tad Ghostal!
After the big win, Tad Ghostal made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Syndicate Nutrition and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.